Kleins Story
by nattygwillikers
Summary: A short story about Ryoutaru and Rika. It is primarily focused on their real life problems. Rika is desperately trying to get Kazuto's affection and Ryoutaru is down and out after a failed relationship and dead end job. The story will touch on how both of them have more in common then one might think. Itroducing a new character, Amami. Now with all chapters together.
1. part 1

Disclaimer: I have only played a handfull of SAO games and watched the first few arcs. Never touched the manga or original light novel. The books probably touch on the two characters I'll be writing about more then what I've seen in the games and on screen. Rika (Lisbeth) and Tsuboi (Klein) had a special effect on me that I wanted to show here. Klein is constantly fodder for perverted slapstick tension killing stuff and Lisbeth has so little depth i cant even get my shorts wet wading around in her character pool. I hope a little light romance and out of game interactions of these two will show any character can have a good story.

Kleins Story: part 1

Location: Akunotou 43rd floor

"It really does get harder as we ascend." Kirito mumbled as he sheathed his two blades.

The whole group was panting and completely fatigued. He wanted to continue going up but knew the rest would be against it.

"We can work more at it later." Asuna exclaimed as she grabbed ahold of Kiritos arm and tangling it in her own. She blushed a little. "After all we have a dance to get ready for." Kirito turned and rested his palm on her head.

"heh, got so distracted in here I almost forgot." He smirked. Asuna puffed out her cheeks for a moment and gave him a cross look.

"Only you would let a game make you forget something this important!" She started to pout and the whole group was watching making Kirito anxious. To break the tension Suguha chimed in.

"Give him a little bit of a break. Big brother and I went shopping all day yesterday finding the perfect tux to wear for the dance!" Asuna lit up at this and jumped into his arms again. Kiritos arms still open at the shock of her 180 degree mood change looked over to give his sister a look of 'I owe you one'

"Rika helped me find my dress. I-I hope you like it" Asuna blushed. Lisbeth snuck up and grabbed Asunas chest from behind lifting up her boobs like a pushup would. Asuna let out a shocked cute speeking sound.

"Found one that really shows off these babies. Better stay close to her or another guy will swoop her up!" Lisbeth had a cheshire grin showing no regret or hesitation in her actions.

"R-Rika! Stop!" pushing her hands away Asuna stood completely red like she had been hanging upside down for hours. Sinon just shook her head in pitty and Klein showed envy all over his face. Kirito looked away from the two and scratched the back of his head. At almost perfect timing Yui budded out of thin air to ask if they would continue the game or not due to a AFK timer placed on there unmoving party.

The group agreed and one by one logged off. Kirito and Asuna being among the first. Lisbeth however was still standing around looking lost in thought. Sinon catching a glimps of her stopped her logging off process to see what was going on.

"Hey." Sinon casually tossed out. No response. she closed in and finally got a view of Lisbeths face. It was full of tears and her lips clenched a bit as if she was trying really hard to swallow. Taken aback at first Sinon finally rubbed her palm across Lisbeths back.

'15 seconds till log off'

A computerized voice broke out and a counter above lisbeth and sinons head starting marking down. Sinon quickly opened her player menu and sent a message.

"This is my number. Call me and we can talk more about it." Before lisbeth could reply the countdown had finished and she was now staring at her bedroom ceiling.

You know that feeling you get when you see something, imagine something, maybe a place or person. Even a scenario you play over and over that you feel would be perfect for you but knowing it will never happen. There are always hypotheticals we have as humans that make us depressed. Rika's was love. Love has many thin lines around it. It can be close to Envy. Very close to obsession. It can even be close enough to hate. Her love was mildly in obsession and envy but now, now it was festering into a new emotion that felt to her a need for action or it would truly be too late.

'I cant love him from the shadows forever' She said to herself. Rika knew Asuna was beautiful, smart and more charismatic then herself. She has seen how he looks at her. 'I'm not even in the same league' More depressing thoughts swelled up inside her mind.

Eyes puffy and red from crying she finally sat up and glanced over at her night stand. A lone framed picture stood there showing everyone in ALO right after a big raid. It was the first time a group of players had beat it so the devs took a picture and mailed it to everyone that completed it. It was the only picture with his arm around her. Though it was only in a friends manor. Its still a moment of contact she wont forget.

"Rika!" A loud voice shot her back to sense. It was a deep and angry voice, her father's. Without knocking he barged in holding a probably almost drank beer. The messed up cloths and stubble showed his lack of employment. He used to be a engineering project leader along with mom being a consultant engineer. Both loved numbers and angles more then anyone else Rika knew. But since her moms death he hasnt taken a job in some months now.

"We cant afford to eat out! Make something! Im starving!" He continued to yell and bark out commands.

This was another building problem. Her home life was falling to shambles. Her mother died from a mathmatical flaw on a floor scheme. It was on the 65th floor of a new corporate building. Her dad did the math and made the error that caused its collapse.

He was on the verge of loosing his job for making multiple errors in blueprints and after the floor problem he was about to be fired. But mom stepped in and told them he made no mistake and she would prove it. If her father had just admitted his mistake and stopped her she may still be alive today. But he didn't. Just to make the man she loved look good she risked her life and died.

"I'll make some gyoza out of leftovers" Rika spewed out in a monotone. Her father sneered at this and grabbed her nerve gear head piece.

"Gyoza again huh? Dont this video games teach you how to cook? or do anything useful? You were stuck in this shit for 2 years and you still play it all the time" he tossed it back on the bed where Rika still sat motionless looking down at the floor. Her time with friends in the virtual world was less and less due to her father. She had to constantly cook and clean for him while trying to maintain her grades in school.

Her home life was terrible but that always makes for a better school life. After her moms death she has been dedicated more then ever to become a pioneer in Prosthetics. While sword building was a passion it has no real use or value in the real world so she was studying to become a robotics engineer with minors in biology to create prosthetic limbs that would one day be as real like as the real deal. Thats why after cooking her father dinner she went to the school after hours and did research in the robotics club room.

"Wow you look busy" Asadas words fell on deaf ears. Rika was completly engroengrossed in a metal forarm shaped object with wires spewing out its ends.

Asada just sat next to her and skimed a few books that lay proped open on the desk. "Human nerves, Musle tissue replication. This is high level stuff." Rika nodded and kept going at the arm as if it was a bomb that needed defused. But after a moment she twitched and lept out of her seat.

"Shino-san, im so sorry! I didnt think you would get here so fast." Rika was flustered and pulled a couple of drinks from her bag she brought. IIt wasnt uncommon for her to spend all day and night at the school so she always came prepared.

"As soon as I got your text I wanted to meet you as soon as possible. Especially after seeing you cry. Whats going on?" She took the drink and started sipping at it but noticed Rika didnt even touch hers. It was kinda nice having the interruption of the game logging her out so she didnt have to talk. But this time there was no distractions.

"Do you think Kazuto, you know." knowing exactly what you want to say and trying not to say it clear as day is a good way to form incoherent sentences. Rika saw Asada's confused expression and knew it had to be said clearly. "Do you think Kazuto likes me?" she felt defeated just by asking it before an answer could come from Asada. Thats how sure she was of it being 'No'. The silence didnt last long before Asada started to giggle.

"Thats what this is all about?" She continued laughing but saw right away Rika was in no mood. Her head was hanging and she was fiddling with a piece of metal on the table in complete silence. Asada stopped laughing at this sight and started to feel bad for her actions. "He is a great guy but him and Asuna are, you know." She scratched her cheek with one finger trying to find the right words. Last thing she wanted was another Rika water works show.

"Have you asked him?" She asked. Trying to gain as much info as possible before giving advise or an answer. Rika put the metal scrap piece down amd closed her two open books as if she was trying to do things to avoid the question.

"No." She let out a long breath and looked off to the side. "I cant ask him that."

"And why not? Its always worth a shot." she replied. Silence once again held the room but just for a moment.

"Because I know he will say no. You're right. He has Asuna and they are in love." Despite tip toeing Asada felt as if she made Her start crying again. In a fluster she tried to make her feel better with the common cheer up phrases. 'You will find someone. plenty of fish in the sea' 'It just wasnt ment to be' None of it broke the choking and tears.

"You dont just like him, do you Rika?" It was obvious at this point her feelings for Kazuto went beyond a highschool crush. "We are still all in school and a very long future is ahead of us. His life with Asuna may look set in stone, but its still very early. You still have lots of chances to show him your true feelings." This was what Rika wanted to hear. Any sign of hope for her outlet from emotional despair.

"But how am I supposed to do that exactly." Rika mumbled wiping away her tears.

Asada fiddled with her drink lid for a moment thinking of an idea. "I know! The dance." Rika was so excited to hear the idea tell the word dance came out.

"But he is going with Asuna, remember? I even helped pick her dress." This almost put her back in a sulking state.

"That may be but its an all night dance.They cant possibly stay together the whole time. I bet we could get you a dress that he cant ignore!" Now Rika was excited.

"we?" she asked in confusion to Asada's idea.

"Yes us. I will help you find a great one to wear! Asuna better look out she has some competition coming!" Asada gave the biggest smile she could and took a long drink before standing up. "Lets meet at tge shopping mall around noon tomorrow."

"But the dance is the day after that." Rika was excited and anxious now thinking of what kinda dress he would like. Asada giggled and told her to calm down.

"Everything is closed now I think. If not it will be closing soon so we best have the whole day to pick the perfect dress!" They both smiled with eyes closed and Asada gave Rika a big hug before parting.

Back at the bench working on the arm all she could think about was the dance. The dance that would give her the answer. The dance that could make or break her mental and emotional world. 'I love you Kazuto. Im going to show you just how much at the dance' She thought as the night went on.

Walking around the Senmise shopping district it was more busy then usual. maybe the other schools are having dances around this time Rika thought. It was almost overwhelming how many shops lined the walkways they both found an area that looked like it was liberally dedicated to clothing stores. She remembered taking Asuna to a couple looking for her dress. Rika started to show glum expressions as deja vu of her past shopping trip surfaced in her thoughts.

Asada noticed and tugged her sleeve.

"Hey, so last time you came here did you find a dress that caught your eye?" She asked trying to keep Rika from thinking and also to find a starting point to there aimless wandering.

"I didnt really look much for my self... I did find a cute one I wanted to try on but-" She cut herself short.

"But what? Why didnt you?" She asked.

"I felt like it would have been rude. It was her day, not mine. Plus I probably wouldn't look good in it." Rika started to the store with the dress she was talking about.

"Dont be so pessimistic. If you always act like the brides maid you'll alway be one." Asada grinned and grabbed Rika's hand. A faint smile surfaced but only for a moment. The store was small and had French written on just about everything. A lot of dresses looked like wedding ones and a few tuxedos displayed in the back. Far back in the corner was a rack of colored dresses in more youthful sizes. Rika scanned till her eyes lit up.

"wow!" Asada's eyes widened also. "Try it on! Try it on!"

Moments later Rika came out. The top was white with black stargazer decals on it. It was a corset and the bottom was a satin material bright red flowing down to the ankles with extra length in the back. The dress added years to Rika giving her a mature womanly aesthetic. Her face was beat red waiting for Asada's reaction.

"You look, wow. It's amazing on you. I dont think it needs adjustments or anything" They grabbed hands and hopped around till the whole store had there attention. The clerk walked up to Rika.

"That dress was made just for you. Its part of last years line of 'jeunesse mature'." Rika didnt even pay attention to the lady. She was in a bit of a narcissistic state looking in the mirror. Asada grabbed the price tag and gasped.

"What is it?"

"Umm, its a little pricy." Asada lifted up the tag for her to see. That earier depressed look she sported around the shopping center came back.

"I help the neighbors move and got a little cash. I can chip in a bit if that helps." She desperately wanted to see Rika smile again.

After a silent internal debate with herself, Rika put the dress back. Leaving the store defeated Asada treated her to ice cream to help sooth the pain. It was mostly silent while they ate and the atmosphere was less then enjoyable.

"We can look at the discou-" Asada was cut off. "I can buy it. But-" She finished her last bite and played with her spoon. "Im not sure how well it will go with my dad." concluding her thought they both started to walk around more.

"After my mom died my dad got fired from his job. He gets a check from the insurance company from her death every month but it barely gets us by." Rika stopped and paused in front of the store with the dress she loved. "I wish i could offer more." It showed that Asada felt really bad about it.

"You have been a great friend. Dont get pulled down by my bummer mood. Its just my dad spends a generous amount of the money on alcohol. I understand he is in pain but so am I. I have to hide some of the money just to keep groceries in the house. His check just came in so I can buy the dress and have no groceries or hide the rest so he cant buy booze." Rika looked like she did when she first saw the price tag. Another internal debate started but this time Asada would be a part of it.

"Buy it!" Her answer almost startled Rika.

She smiled and looked right into her eyes. "Buy the dress you think will impress the man you love. Your heart is more important then his buzz." That was all it took. She finally mached Asada's grin and then baught the dress.

"Hey Ryoutarou what the fuck is this?!" A fat short man stomped over and slapped a stapled group of papers in front of Tsuboi. "This client report should have been done two days ago! Its not even half finished and it needs to be upstairs by morning!" The man stared him down. Now shrunk in his chair he cleared his throat with trouble.

"I-it will be done by tomorrow, Promise! I had to leave early yesterday because of an emerg-" The man cut him off.

"I dont give a shit! You dont leave that desk tell its done." He stormed back to the manager office. Tsuboi looked around the silent office as everyones gaze was fixed on him. Giving a nervous grin he grabbed the paper work and mostly at first tried to look busy with it to loose the office attention then to work on it. 'This wont be done till midnight' he mumbled to himself. After everyone had gone home and his desk was the only one lit up by the lamp he looked around to see if anyone was left in the office. "Finally, at least now i can call her and get the next yelling session out of the way." He grabbed his phone and dialed. A cheery voice greeted him with loud music in the background.

"Hey you." She was giggling a lot.

"Hey babe, I cant make it tonight. Boss is making me finish this crappy report by tonight." She didnt reply at first but not because she was mad it almost sounded like she was holding another conversation and didnt hear a thing he said. "Babe?" He asked waiting fir a reply.

"Oh, ok. Its ok. We can just do something another time." She had no sign of disappointment in her tone.

"ok, umm yeah. I should be done around midnight. If you want I can pick up some take out and we can watch a movie or something." Even though it didnt sound like she needed cheering up he put the offer out there anyways. She didn't answer. Probably because the blaring music and voices kept pervading the phone call. "Hey babe, whats that sound?"

"No its ok we can just do something tomorrow. How about shopping?" She ignored or maybe didnt hear his question.

"Yeah, thats fine. So what time? And do you want me to grab some food after work?" He asked again.

"yes, tomorrow I'll call you. Night babe. kiss, kiss." Then she hung up.

He went back to work but was still hung up on the phone call. 'Maybe it was just the car stereo or something' but curiosity got the best of him and he called her back.

"Yo." a deep voice answered. Behind him he heard a frantic womans voice telling him to hang up. Before he could ask who it was the phone call was cut off. That was a long, long night of work for Tsuboi.

After midnight when he finally finished it was a quiet walk home. the streets were empty and just about everything was closed. He had called up Andrew to keep the bar open late so he could stop by.

"Refill." Drew poured another glass.

"You should slow down. What happened anyways?" He asked while cleaning the counter.

"I had a feeling but didnt want to believe it. She is seeing some other guy." He swigged the whole glass in one go.

"Never did like her. When you brought her in here last week she was flirting up every guy here." Tsuboi reached for the bottle but Andrew swiped it. "No more, man. I'll give you a ride home." Putting arm over shoulder he dragged him to the car and they took off.

"How do you do it? You and your wife seem happy. How did you get that kinda love?"

Andrew smiled. "Let me put it this way. If she ain't yelling at you once in awhile, she doesn't care. I've noticed the girls you wrap up with are far too easy going."

"So what, I find a really bitchy one and cling to her? I get enough opposite sex verbal beatings from the girls online."

"The thing is, you come on strong. That only gets two kinds of attention.One is a girl who knows you're not serious. She will just want a no strings attached thing. Or you will get a mouth full like the girls online give."

The car was silent for a moment but probably because Tsuboi was only half lucid from intoxication. Tears started to line his eyes and he started swallowing looking at Andrew then at the floor.

"I dont get it. Im a nice guy. I work hard and I always treat a girl right. Yeah, I come on strong but thats just me. Do i really have to change myself to find happiness?" The tears built up to the point that they fell down his cheek.

"Your heart is in the right place. You are still in your 20's don't act like your some 50 year old thats still single. Don't overhaul change yourself just reel back a bit and be more reserved. Trust me, man. You work hard and you're good looking. No homo. So keep your spirits up." They pulled up to the apartment complex.

Tsuboi smirked and whiped his tears. Andrew was truly a good friend. He was always a mature and good sorce for advice. Not to mention one of his very few friends in about the same age zone. He stumbled out of the car but managed to get his balance.

turning around he leaned his head down to the rolled down car window.

"Thanks man. You're a solid guy. I'm glad to have you as a friend."

Andrew shook his head. "You're drunk." They both laughed. As He walked to the appartnent door Andrew leaned his head to the passanger window. "And real friend honest time. Loose the damn headband. Edo period ended awhile ago." Tsuboi spun around staggering and just flipped him off with a grin and they both laughed.

After he got inside his place the couch was the only destination. After a thud on it he passed out immediately.


	2. part 2

Kleins story: part 2

Location: Akunotou 50th floor

"We need to stick close together!" Kirito panted after reflecting several blows from the floors boss. It was a large very slender creature sharing many features of a praying mantis. Its large front legs had long jagged spikes lining across the breast side. Each one was coated and stained in blood. About ten minutes into the fight Kirito learned the basics of this bosses fighting pattern. It moved very slow but had a teleportation ability to move behind any player and make a swift, deadly strike. While he was capable of dodging this Leafa, Agil, and Philia didnt share the same speed. This was probably mostly due to there characters not being specced terribly much in agility and lack of real world quick sense.

"Trash the aggro idea. This boss doesn't play by the party rules. As far as I can tell even with Lisbeths tanking skills the boss just random teletargets a player for an instant kill." Kirito threw one of his swords by the boss and a copy of him self manifested and grabbed the thrown sword sticking out of the earth. This was a rare high level dual weild ability he was still new to but it was a now or never situation.

"My copy will at least lower our chances of being targeted. I'll stay by my copy and when he teleports next, everyone give him everything you've got!" After barking his orders. Kirito and his double attacked the mantis creature relentlessly waiting for its deadly move. Asuna, Klein, and Lisbeth all kept a small birth behind the foe to make sure they were ready to strike. It was Kiritos hope that right after it teleports it will be vulnerable to attacks and take heavy damage. No other attacks or methods have done much to its health so far thats why it made it a risk worth taking or it would eventually pick them all off.

'With my copy that gives about a 30 or so percent chance of it coming to me. Asuna and Klein can probably dodge it but, if not thats one more down. Lisbeth is specced for tanking so she could probably block it or take the hit and not die. Thats another big risk. Come on you. Attack me!' Kirito's thought broke when the creature finally did another one of its infamous teleattacks. He was all to prepared to dodge but to his horror he wasnt the target.

"Gahhh!" Lisbeth cried out. The creatures long front limb was sticking clean through her chest cavity. All watched in terror as the blood gushed out and her HP quickly depleted. Kirito in a rage hacked away at the limb till it was severed. Lisbeth fell and Asuna caught her before touching the floor. Now that it was detached. The part in her body had turned light blue and disappeared leaving a gaping hole.

"Kirito look!" Klein shouted pointing up at the monsters head. It had two very slender antennas that had a bright red hue around them. 'Of course' Kirito mentally face palmed himself. 'If the antennas are cut it probably wont be able to use that move again. Something we should have done at the start.'

"You and your double distract it. I'll hack them off!" Klein shouted getting behind the mantis waiting for a good opening to jump up and attack. Kirito nodded then looked back at Asuna and Lisbeth.

"Pull her back and focus on keeping her alive. Dont want her to lose the XP on this one. Especially for being in the fight so long." Asuna nodded and dragged Lisbeth to a corner and started using healing spells on her.

"Don't rub it in!" Leafa pouted. Even though she was technically a corpse the chat was still enabled. "Moo. Why did I have to be its first victim! Didn't plan on making friends with the floor all day after school." She continued her rant briefly before it was interrupted by Asunas gasp. Lisbeths HP was now at 10% she concentrated with all her might to speed up the spell. Finally the HP loss was at a crawl now and the hole healed up but a lingering poison effect remained.

"Just a low level cure spell should fix that and you will be ok." Asuna gave one of her innocent smiles. Lisbeth didn't even acknowledge her. She had her head leaning sideways watching Kirito repel the monsters attacks.

"Even in a game im not much." Lisbeth mumbled as a tear rolled down her cheek. Asuna was caught up in the spell process and didn't hear the remark.

"Take this you bastard!" Klein shouted and ran up the creatures back. drawing back his Tachi in one fel swoop he hacked off both antennas. The monster screeched and started flailing thowing Klein a good diatance away. Kirito took this chance to buddy up with his double and start a chain of relentless attacks. Liberal amounts of its HP dropped with each slice. simultaneously Him and the double both swung at the neck and hacked its head clean off. Greenish black blood gushed out and the body twitched and contracted before turning bright blue and vanishing.

Everyone that had died was now revived with low HP. Kirito, Klein, Lisbeth, And Asuna got a slew of cash and XP. Everyone was cheering. Well mostly everyone. Leafa was bawling and had a concerned Philia patting her back.

"Next time I promise I'll protect you." Kirito smiled lightly as he rubbed a hand on Leafa's head. She blushed a little and groaned.

"I hope in real life you dont let me fall victim so easily!" She crossed her arms but didnt deny the head rub. Noticing she didn't Kirito figured she wasn't all that mad.

"My man!" Klein held an open hand up to Kirito. They locked hands and pulled in contacting each others chest with there forarms. "Ah man, that was crazy! Did you see me run all up on that thing! Didn't know this game would let you have so much contact options with enemies." Klein and Kirito continued talking and everyone else seemed at ease.

"Ouch!"

Everyone stopped there conversing and looked around in a panic. No enemies came up on the map and everything looked clear. Soon another cry came out but this time everyone saw it was Lisbeth. She held the side of her face and staggered almost falling over.

"Lisbeth! Whats going on? Are you ok?" Asuna asked inspecting her to see if there was any damage. Her health was full now. Everyone gathered around puzzled. Soon another cry came out and she grabbed her cheek again. This time her equilibrium was off and she fell to the ground.

"It hurts!" She cried out. But before anyone could say a thing or touch her she disappeared.

Rika was no longer on the 50th floor of Akunotou. She was gazing up at her room ceiling with a sharp stinging sensation on the side of her cheek. Before she could sit up a figure leaned over her. From being pulled out of VR her vision was still fuzzy so the face couldn't be made out. It raised its hand and swiped it down on her once again smacking the same cheek. The spot now felt hot and almost numb. She could feel her heart beating through it. Quickly sitting up her eyes refocused and could make out the man standing by her bed. It was her father. He looked rabid, drunk, and eyes full of anger.

"D-Dad!?" Rika started to tear up as she craddled her cheek. He raised his hand again and she cowered back. He didn't strike her this time but he did punch the wall leaving a fist size hole.

"Do you know how humiliating it is getting kicked out of a bar?!" He spouted out voilently pointing his finger at the cowering Rika.

"Dad I-"

"Shut up! Thanks to you I know what its like!" He started rifling through her room. knocking over stuffed animals and tearing out all of her clothes from the dresser. "Where is it? What did you buy?!" He showed no sign of relenting. At this point Rika was so paralyzed with fear and sadness she just curled her knees up and buried her face in them. She just broke down and cried.

"I looked at my online banking after I was tossed out and found almost all my money was blown at some french store! So what is it?! The hell did you buy?!" He gazed at her with anger but she just kept her head buried and continued to cry. "Dammit Rika.You better tell me!"

At this point she knew if she didn't do anything another painful smack would come. So she stood up and reached between the box spring and mattress pulling out a long dress covered with a clear dry cleaning bag. Her father snatched it and looked closely before scoffing.

"The hell is this?!"

Rika didn't reply. She just got back up in bed and curled up in a ball again.

"Im talking to you!" He swung an open hand out smacking her leg. Rika yelped and put both hands on the pink almost redish spot forming on her side calf. This time she felt anger. A scowl covered her face as she looked him in the eyes.

"I have a school dance. A dress is required to go." despite her stern look she trembled on her words. Her father had never struck her before so she was more in emotional pain and confusion then physical.

"This better be returned tomorrow or so help me I'll sell your damn VR thing!" At this he tossed the dress on the floor and stormed out slamming the door. Rika grabbed the crinkled dress and laid back into bed. 'Fine! Sell my Nervegear. If it means I can be with Kazuto I dont care!' This was her first thought. Soon though the events of today reminded her that she did very little to help the group online. That was the bridge that put her in a depressed state. All she could think about was being no match for Asuna and on top of it feeling the pain from her leg and cheek was a grim reminder her home life was no better. It didn't take long before all these thoughts put her into despair. She hugged and cuddled with the dress whispering over and over that she hated herself with tears running down till she passed out.

The next morning Rika felt an emotional weight pining her down to the bed. Even after a nights sleep she was still in the same mind set as last night. Looking at her phone on the night stand it showed several notifications. She mustered enough energy to grab it and look through all the text from everyone she played with last night. Everyone just asked if she was ok. Asuna had left three text and there was even a missed call from her. The only person she replied back to was Kazuto telling him, she was just fine and that it was probably a malfunction from her Nervegear. Even though it was a lie she didnt want him to know about what happened last night. The last thing she wanted him to do was pity her.

It was about 8 am at this point and she figured the stores would be open by the time she got there. Plus her father was probably going to be hung over and wake up soon. The sooner she left the house, the better. Before leaving she texted Asada. Asking her to meet at the Gelato stand on the outskirts of the shopping center. She at least knew that Asada would keep quiet about it and allow her some much needed venting and consulting on the matter.

Asada arrived at the little Gelato stand to find Rika sitting at a corner table with the dress folded up neatly on her lap.

"Hey, sorry im late. Didn't think I would be going anywhere today." She sat down and looked closely at Rika who was holding her ice cream on her cheek. Now that she was close it was obvious from the written facial expression that something was really wrong.

"Rika, what happened? Are you-"

"I have to take the dress back." She cut her off mid sentence. Asada just looked puzzled and as Rika said this she lowered her cup of ice cream from her cheek exposing a red welt.

"Did, did you fall or something? Whats going on? Why do you need to take the dress back?" At this point she was really in the dark as to what was going on. After all she did miss the boss raid last night and the episode of Lisbeth logging off abruptly.

"Shino, do you believe everything happens for a reason?" Rika's voice faltered and almost sounded monotonous.

"umm, sorta. Rika, do you need a doctor? Are you ok?" She didnt really want to dive into a cryptic conversation without at least knowing what happened. Before she could reply a loud voice boomed behind them startling both the girls.

"Yo!"

Turning to the side they saw Tsuboi with his classic carefree grin. He was holding a bag with what looked like fresh vegetables and a few other raw ingredients. Both girls just scowled at him and gave no reply. Both Rika and Asada didn't care much for Tsuboi. Plus his carefree attitude was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Reading there faces his smile sunk. Now looking generally concerned he grabbed a chair from a near by table and swung it around to sit with them.

"Hey, whats going on guys? Two beautiful girls having Gelato is usually a good thing, right?" He asked.

Rika just ignored him. Asada sighed before giving him something so he would leave them alone.

"We are just shopping, ok. So leave us alone." It was a little colder then she wanted to be. But helping Rika took priority.

"oh, I get it. You're salty because you missed the boss last night. Man it was epic! Should have seen the amazing shot I got in! You were there Rika, remember?" Instead of replying or even acknowledging him she just got up and started walking away. Asada didn't expect this and scrambled up to chase after her.

"Dammit, Tsuboi! You really are a jerk!" This time she felt he deserved the cold treatment. He was totally at a loss now but did notice her red cheek.

"Yo, Shino!" He jumped up and grabbed her shoulder.

She spun around with a furious look. He had a feeling she was about a second away from slapping him. He really did want to know what was going on now though.

"Last night you missed it. That red spot she has, she kept grabbing her cheek there last night in game then got emergency logged off."

"I don't have time for this." Asada brushed his hand off and turned to catch up with Rika.

"Hey, hold on!" He ran up in front of her path. She pushed up her glasses and took a stance that suggested he was about to get more then a slap.

"Hey, hey! I'm just trying to say that I had a few buddies over one time while I was in full dive. The way she was acting reminded me of how I was when they were messing with my real self." At this point he covered his face with one hand and crotch the other just in case she decided to strike. Instead to his suprise she lowered her guard and let out a deep breath.

"She lives alone with her father." They both stood silent. It didnt take long before Tsuboi came to a morbid conclusion. Asada looked like she did too. She then looked past him and could see Rika was almost out of sight.

"Don't breath a word of this to anyone!" She gave him one last serious look before dashing off.

Tsuboi just stood there for a moment. He couldn't help but wonder the full story of what was going on. Marks on her face. Why she was holding a new dress at this time of morning. Most of the clothing stores just opened up so she probably didn't just buy it. Mostly out of concern but a little out of curiosity he decided to follow them.

Trying to be sly as possible he kept a generous distance. Last thing he needed was a cop or someone to think he is stalking highschool girls. It didn't take long before they finally went into the clothing store she bought it from. He waited outside for only a few minutes when they came out. 'Wow shortest amount of time I've ever seen girls spend in a clothing store.' He thought to himself. It was easy to notice right away she was no longer carrying the dress. 'Huh?' He wanted to go up and ask but remembered Asada's battle stance earler and wanted to avoid that if possible.

Instead he waited till they were out of sight then proceeded to the store they came out of.

"Hello, sir. We don't have much of a selection on mens clothing but we do have a few tuxedos in the back." The lady smiled and started to guide him back.

"umm, actually I was wondering about a dress." The lady looked lost.

"Sir, I dont think we have any dresses in your size." It looked like it took everything she had not to sound judgmental.

"N-no! Nothing like that. Did someone just return a dress here?" He was now blushing in embarrassment as the other women in the store looked at him.

"A young woman just returned one a bit ago. Im positive it wont fit you." Tsuboi just felt like she was being mean at this point.

"Did she say why she returned it?" He wanted to just leave but didn't want to go empty handed.

"Im not allowed to talk about customers. Why do you want to know anyways? She is quite young and you look to be in your 20's." Now the whole store really was gazing at him and it was not in a friendly way. He knew it was either leave or be aggressive.

"Fine. But may I buy the dress? I can pay cash right now for it and I'll be out of your store." The lady looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Ok. As long as it gets you out of my store. You're scaring off my customers." She grabbed the dress from behind the counter and rung it up. The price almost gave him a heart attack but he knew there was no backing out now. Once he left with dress in hand he couldn't find the girls anywhere.After a moment he figured they had only come to return it then leave right after. Without having any of there contact information he was going to have to wait till they got online to talk to them.

Akunotou 51st floor

Lisbeth was mindlessly swinging her mace. Not even paying attention to holding aggro. It didn't take long before she let a few enemies slip past her. She came to her senses when Leafa cried out as two skeleton warriors wailed on her. Even before Kirito could get over there she was downed.

"Leafa! I'm so sorry." Lisbeth rushed over to her after they cleared the rest of the enemy group. Asuna was using her reviving spell but it took a long time to cast. Leafa just whined like a baby crying out how unfair and cruel the world was. More sarcastically then anything. Listening to her whine about something so trivial made Lisbeth felt less sorry and more angry at her.

"How could you not handle a few adds? You really need to go back a few floors and grind more." Lisbeth's cold comment was met with silence. Even Asuna lost concentration at failed to cast her revive spell.

"Hey, Shinozaki. Is everything ok?" Philia asked breaking the stunned groups silence.

"Everything would be fine if I didn't have to hold the group all the time!" She barked back. Now Philia fell silent with everyone else. Asuna stood up and walked over to Lisbeth.

"Rika, whats going on? I tried calling and texting you all day. Why are you being mean to everyone?" Rika ignored her and opened her game menu and hit a button. A flag fell from the sky next to them with clashing swords on it. Letters appeared in front of Asuna. 'Accept dual?'

"What is this?" Asuna asked now frustrated.

"You think im lying or something? I do carry this group and I'll prove it." She unsheathed her mace and gripped her shield taking a battle stance facing Asuna. This was really making Asuna upset. She quickly drew her rapier and held it point out at Lisbeth.

"If fighting you will give me answers, so be it." She clicked accept on the screen and a three second timer counted down.

3

2

1...

Asuna attacked first trying to get in a quick fatal strike. Her Rapier only kissed steel from Lisbeths shield. The vibration almost made her drop it but she kept a firm grip. They have both been fighting in games for a long time so they knew each others tricks, strengths, and weaknesses. Lisbeth didn't hesitate to retaliate from the strike. Quickly siding her shield she swung the heavy mace down at Asuna's head only to make contact with the earth. The attack was slow and easy to dodge. Asuna didn't have time to strike with her rapier so she placed a hand on lisbeths exposed chest and casted a weak wind spell knocking her to the ground in a supine position. She didn't waste anytime getting right in front of her exposed body and start stabbing down. Lisbeth had heavy mail bracers on and decided to drop the shield and mace to dodge the raining down strikes with them. She only took minimal damage from the few slices that hit her exposed arm. With both bracers she guided the blade into the ground beside her and kicked up sending asuna stumbling back. Her rapier was still stuck in the ground as Lisbeth stood up and re equipped her arms. She put herself between Asuna and her sword.

"Looks like I win." Lisbeth grinned mockingly.

Asuna knew something was wrong with her. 'I know this isn't the Rika I became best friends with. I have to win.' Asuna closed her eyes for a moment then opened them wide. She held out both hands and cast a water spell that shot out a large stream of boiling water in Lisbeths direction. She kept casting the spell relentlessly till almost all her mana was drained. Once she stopped and the humidity around them formed by the spell broke she saw Lisbeth still standing. She had her shield in front and was in a crouching position so her whole body was covered from the attack.

"Forgot my shield is heavy in magic resistance?" Lisbeth sounded almost cynical. She slowly walked twords the unarmed low mana opponent. Asuna could see the hunger in her eyes to destroy her. Even though it was just a game it was still terrifying. before she could deliver the blow Kirito shouted out.

"No! Asuna!" He tried to run up but the dual activated a field around the two people dueling so no one could tamper or interfere with the fight. This stopped Lisbeth and got her attention. She could see the genuine look of concern in his eyes.

"Kazuto..." Lisbeth whispered. She lowered her mace but failed to notice Asuna had gone around her to recover her weapon. Before she could make sense of what was going on a stinging pain hit her chest. Looking down stunned she could see Asuna had driven her rapier right into her chest. Quickly pulling it out she sliced off Lisbeths right hand. Her hand along with the mace it was grasping fell to the ground. She looked up to catch the very moment before Asuna slit her throat open. This was enough to drop her HP to 1% and the duel was over.

After the duel Lisbeths hand was immediately reattached and her wounds healed but she still lay there stairing up at the sky with a blank expression. Asuna was panting and as soon as she Sheathed her weapon Kirito ran up and hugged her. Lisbeth tilted her head and watched them embrace each other. In a fury she sprung up and threw her mace in there direction. It wouldn't have done any damage but Kirito still by his natural reflexes drew a sword and knocked the mace away from them. Lisbeth gritted her teeth and started to walk away.

"Hey! I won. Now tell me whats going on!" Asuna yelled out as she took a stance in Lisbeths direction. She turned around and gave Asuna a look of pure hatred.

"I never said you would get anything if you won. I was just trying to prove you all slow me down. I'm leaving." She turned back around and continued to walk away.

"Rika wait! please!" Asuna started crying as she yelled out. Rika kept walking and only turned her head slightly.

"I need to get stronger. Leave me alone."

With this she walked off into the distance leaving everyone in a silent shock.

Sinon opened her menu to log off but Klein jumped in front of her waving to stop.

"What is it Klein? I really need to go." She really wanted to log off and call Rika. But it was easy to see Klein had it written all over his face that he was just as worried.

"I bought her dress."

Sinon just looked shock and couldn't figure out the words to say. After a moment of stumbling she asked why.

"Just give me your number and lets meet up so I can give it to you."

"Tsuboi..." Sinon for the first time spoke to him with an actual hint of respect.

"She isn't a big fan of me and would probably be weirded out if she knew I got it. So just tell her you bought it." Klein scratched the back of his head all flustered and embarrassed. Sinon smiled and sent him a PM with her phone number. Klein smiled back and watched as sinon logged off. Shortly after, he logged off and was laying on the couch. getting up, he looked at the dress hanging in the doorway. Grabbing his phone he quickly texted Asada and in his mind he truly hoped that Rika was ok.


	3. part 3

Author babble: Hello readers...If I have any. Just wanted to apologize for the lack of Klein in Kleins story. I feel kinda like click bait. like im showing you tits but when you click on it you end up filling out a form for cheaper auto insurance. While Rika is a meaty part of this story I promise Klein is the prime rib. Also, constructive criticism is can be youtube comment brutal on spelling and/or punctuation. Anything helps!

It took Asuna a long time to muster up the courage to hit the button on the Shinozaki's residential intercom. After a moment of silence a groggy voice came on. "Yes? Who is it?"

"Umm, It's Asuna." The box was silent and after a moment Rika's father flung open the door and gave her a warm greeting. He always liked Asuna. Told her all the time she reminded him of his wife. This would always make her feel more uncomfortable then complemented. Still she put on a smile and persevered his lengthy hug. Once she got inside he pointed her to the stairs. Telling her Rika hadn't left her room in some time now.

"I'm glad you came over. She has been acting very strange lately." His tone had more hints of annoyance then concern. Asuna just smiled and held up a small pink bento box.

"I made her some teriyaki pork onigiri. I know she really likes it."

"Hopefully it does something. She can't always be up there playing that game." He grabbed a dark brown bottle sitting on the kitchen counter and took a long swig. "After all that time in the death game you would think she'd spend less time on that crap!"

Asuna didn't know how to reply. She was also still avid into full dive games. She didn't talk to Rika's father much but he also seemed a bit off. His bitter comment didn't help her feel like Rika would have anything better to say.

"Umm, is it ok if I take this to her now?" was the only thing she could think of to say. He just nodded and sat down by the kotatsu coddling his bottle of booze. Since he told her she was playing the game, chances are she wont be able to talk to her in full dive. It was still worth a shot though. Asuna had tried to message her in game but it looked like Rika had taken her off the friends list and blocked her PM's. This was the last way to try and see what was going on.

Asuna stood in front of her door for some time in silence. 'What should I say?' she raised her arm up and tried to knock but just stop and lower her hand back down. 'Her eye's when we dueled. She looked so mad. What if I have to see them like that in real life.' She was scared. This wasn't a game and Asuna had no rapier at her hip just in case. It had her scared enough to just leave the food with Rika's father and ask him to have her call or text. but She knew she couldn't do that. A best friend would never do something like that. It was only right to at least try and talk to her face to face.

After mustering some resolve she finally knocked. It was silent. No sound came from within. This had her believing more so that Rika was in full dive. But she also had Kazuto check her online status earlier. He was the only one she didn't block. He said she was offline but maybe she hid her status. Asuna knocked again and once more got no answer. She was desperate enough to grab the door handle and just barge in. "Rika, it's Asuna. I'm coming in, ok."

Before the knob fully turned a soft spoken voice seeped through stopping her.

"Leave me alone." It was muffled and hard to hear but Asuna knew thats what she said.

"I brought you some onigiri. Its pork. I know you really like it." It was silent again. Asuna was starting to get frustrated being left out in the hall with no reply.

"Ok then, i'll stay out here and talk to you." To this Rika just repeated what she said a moment ago.

"Can I ask what I did wrong? I can't claim to know whats going on but at the very least I would like to know what your best friend did to deserve this?" It was silent again. Asuna was really starting to get aggrivated at this point. Finally she grabbed the handle again and told Rika she was coming in either way.

"Asuna." It was soft but much more clear than her previous words. Once again she stopped abruptly letting go of the knob.

"Yes?" She put a palm on the door and listened carefully.

"We can't be friends anymore." At first Asuna thought she heard wrong. This was her best friend. They have spent so much time together and been through enough to easily be called best friends.

"What?!" Was the only thing she could think of to spout out. Tears started to craddle her eye lids.

"I need to figure things out. So please leave me alone." Rika was cold. No reassurance to Asuna's sobbing just a vague answer followed by silence. Asuna finally stopped crying enough to speak again.

"Rika, you have been and always will be my best friend. I wish in my heart that I could help you feel better. But if you believe you need to do it alone I wont pester you. Just know im always here for you." With this Asuna wiped her face with a sleeve and left. She didn't even try to wait for Rika to reply because it would be too heart breaking if she was only given silence again.

Rika was just laying in bed. legs pulled up and curled into a ball. The room was dark and her Nervegear was sitting on the night stand. She hadn't done anything the whole day but lay in the dark. A horrible game had taken away 2 years of her youth. Death had taken her mother and now Asuna had taken her love. The weight of all this kept her down in bed unable to move. She thought about Kazuto holding her pillow tight pretending it was his warm body. Everything was so wrong but just his love alone could mend it all, she thought.

The ceiling lit up as a text buzzed turning on her phone screen. It was Asada.

[Hey, we should meet up tomorrow. I have a suprise! (ﾉヮ)ﾉ:･ﾟ]

The last thing Rika wanted to do was see anyone. She was fairly certain it wasn't Kazuto wrapped up with a bow. Ignoring the text she instead messaged him to meet at the main city in Akunotou. Maybe alone time with him, even in a virtual setting could give her some kind of assurance or at least give her some hope in her spiraling down life.

Asada had talked to Tsuboi after logging out and decided to meet at his appartment after school and work. When she arrived it was already nightfall. Waiting at the door for an answer she noticed an old lady with a grocery bag walk up to the door next to Tsuboi's. This complex seemed like it was only built for one bedroom places so she figured the lady must live alone.

"Oh, I haven't seen you before. Are you that nice young mans girlfriend?" The old lady startled Asada by breaking the silence in the hall. Flustered, she turned quickly to the lady sliding her glasses almost of the tip of her nose. Blushing she pushed them back up to her face.

"N-No! Im just here to-" before she could finish the lady smiled and clapped her hands.

"Oh my goodness! Then you must be his younger sister! Its obvious because you are just as lovely as his older one." The old lady giggled to herself and was thoroughly content with her self drawn conclusion. Asada just looked at the lady and figured it was best not to correct her. Sister was better then girlfriend she thought.

Someone else's footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs. 'Oh good. More Neighbors to draw conclusions of my visit' If the dress didn't mean so much to Rika she would have just bailed by now. Luckily the figure that came up was a exausted Tsuboi. His tie was loose at the collar and half of his dress shirt untucked. His exausted look subsided when he noticed Asada standing at the door. "Yo! Asada, glad you came. Sorry, my boss is an ass hole." She was a little relieved that he finally arrived to put an end to her and the neighbors awkward conversation but still upset that he would use language like that in front of an elder.

"I can't believe how they treat you there." The old lady said. She didn't seem to mind his blunt words. Once he noticed her a big smile ran across his face.

"Oh hey Ouno-San!" His greeting was warm hearted.

"A handsome young man like yourself should be running that place." She grinned.

"Maybe if I sent you in there you could intimidate my boss into quiting." To this she gave a little laugh. Asada saw how much the lady enjoyed the dialogue. It was kinda cute to watch them talk so casually.

"If I do then what do i get?" She asked.

"As the new CEO I would open your cat sanctuary." To this Asada had an internal awww moment.

"And all your employees will be guys in there twenties with no shirts on and have athletic builds." Her aww moment seized and she almost choked on air. Eyes wide and mouth hanging wide open she was now thoroughly creeped out.

"I wouldn't mind watching you work without a shirt on." The old lady said as she winked.

'This person is more perverted then him! Maybe she is his perversion sensei' Asada thought to herself.

"I take it this is your younger sister?" She asked.

"oh, no she is just a friend from my game."

Asada snapped back into consciousness and was a bit flustered now that the lady knew she wasn't his sister.

"I see. I won't flirt with your man anymore. At least for tonight." Thats all it took for Asada to return to a dumbfounded state. The lady laughed again and this time said her good byes and went inside. Tsuboi had to wave his hands in front of Asada to get her attention.

"Sorry about that." He apologized the moment she closed the door. Things grew a bit awkward now that it was just them standing in the hall. After all they had never met just the two of them not even in game have they been alone around each other. She just nodded at his apology and they went inside.

Looking around she could easily conclude this was a bachelor pad. Cloths everywhere, posters of video games and half nude girls. Not to mention the whole place just had that testosterone smell pervading it. Scanning around one thing did pop out that didn't seem to fit in with his 'arrangements'. It was a painting of the Hotakadake mountian range in the winter. On the right was even the famous Sanso that sat atop it. The detail was incredible but the snow and sky was painted in a way that also showed expressionism. It was a complex peice that didnt suit him at all she thought. Tsuboi was back in his room grabbing the dress and when he came out he caught her gazing at it.

"Beautiful huh?" He walked up beside her and joined in the admiration.

"Its wonderful. Who is the artist?" She asked with her eyes still fixated on it.

"My sister painted it. She is an amazing artist. Went to art school in New York and now travels the world." He broke her gaze by holding Rikas dress in front of her.

"I hope it helps her out." He gave a reserved smile and didn't seem to wanna talk about the painting anymore. He felt like it was burdening her to hang around his appartment anymore then she had to.

"Thanks. I hope she does too." She let out a sigh and sat down on the couch under the painting. This kinda suprised Tsuboi. He figured the moment the dress was in her clutches, she would have bailed. A bit confused He decided to grab some cold sodas and offered her one then sat down in a chair accross from her.

"Do you think her father...Well you know." He figured she wanted to talk about Rika more in depth but didn't know how to start so he just came out with it blunt.

"I have a hard time believing it was anything else." She looked down at her lap and then took a sip of the soda.

"She is always so happy and making jokes, though they aren't my taste. But still I have a bad feeling something at home is making her act like strange and this Kazuto obsession isn't helping". She really was concerned about Rika using Kazuto as an outlet to her problems. Everyone could obviously see that his heart belongs to Asuna and not even Izanagi could separate them.

"Even if those two weren't dating it's not like she is the only one in line after him. Lucky bastard." He said looking right at Asada.

"Your one of them too, huh?" He asked point blank.

She just blushed and got frazzled for a moment before denying it. Tsuboi just grinned at how obvious the real answer was. Noticing his reaction she crossed her arms and gave a pouting face.

"Haha, man he is totally the protagonist of any visual novel. So many routes he can pick." Reading her like a book he just continued to show his envy of Kazuto. Noticing the conversation was going off track Asada regained her composer.

"She needs friends right now. People to talk to and help get her out of whatever she is in. When im with her its so hard to try and talk about anything but him. She genuinely thinks this dance will give her answers that I honestly think she wont want to hear." Asada started rubbing her tempels. It showed Tsuboi that she was becoming exaused trying to help Rika.

"Then should I take the dress back? I just bought it because she looked really sad. I dont want to make things worse by giving it to her." As he said this, regret was building up as he realized he poked his nose in other peoples business and made a call without knowing anything that was going on. Asada could see this and waved her hands out in front of him.

"No, no. It's a good thing. I think the only way for her to stop the obsession is hear his rejection in person. It sounds terrible but if he does then maybe we can finally help her as friends." Asada sounded a bit doubtful. She was a little concerned that even this plan could fail and make Rika do something more rash then her duel with Asuna.

"I feel bad that im not much help. I mean I bought the dress but aside from that im positive im the last person she would want encouraging from." He was always too outgoing but knew when to reel it in and Asada knew this.

"You have done plenty. Plus, we dont want your admirer next door to know you are talking to even more girls." She grinned.

"oh snap! Shino joking around. Sure I gave you a soda and not a beer by accident?" He chuckled.

"If this contain even a hint of alcohol I will report you to the proper authorities for attempting to intoxicat a minor." His grin shrunk.

"Ah, I see cold sniper girl is back." The two talked a bit longer about Rika then Tsuboi gave her a ride back to her mom's house. But before getting out of the car he stopped her for a moment.

"Hey, she probably wont talk to me but can you maybe keep me up to date. it may be one sided but she is my friend too." Asada got out of the car and looked into the window.

"I guess its the least I can do for you buying the dress." They both shared a grin then she waved goodbye and went inside.

Akunotou: Shikage ichi (main city)

Lisbeth sat outside a Victorian steam punk theme café. She was wearing a Victorian blouse with bordello boots and an umbrella. It was all white with red on buttons and laces. The game made players wear town outfits when not in the field. She didn't mind this rule because it felt like the outfit made her look much more feminine then her clunky tank gear. She wanted to look as good as possible for meeting Kirito. Sipping her tea and waiting someone sat across from her at the table. She grinned and asked how he was doing before stopping mid sentence when realizing it wasn't kirito but his sister.

"Suguha! Why are you here?" She asked in a very impatient tone.

This made her cower a bit and she began to push her index fingers together as a nervous habbit. "Umm, dont be mad but...When you texted brother I'm the one that replied." She looked down out of fear of lisbeths reaction. Waiting for her to yell and get angry she was suprised when neither happened.

"Oh, was he busy or something?" She asked while sipping tea. She almost seemed unaffected by her words. "Want me to order you some milk tea or coffee?"

Her reaction had thrown suguha off so much that she couldn't say anything and just nodded. Lisbeth frowned and gave a cold gaze. "Which one? Can't you even decide? You made the choice to get between him and I pretty easy. Should be a walk in the park to pick a drink." Her words made Suguha sink in her chair it took a moment to gain her bearings. Once she did she just apologized and started to get up and leave.

"Wait!" lisbeth yelled and gave a gesture to sit back down. She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath.

"Im sorry. I just really need to speak to him." She said trying not to drive away the sister of the man she was in love with. It would lower her odds even more if his family didn't like her. While hesitant, Suguha sat back down and ordered a sweet tea. Silent, she sipped it waiting for Lisbeth to speak. Her mood was in so many directions Suguha had no clue what she would say next.

"I'm not mad just a little upset. Why did you come to meet me instead?" she asked while holding back her anger.

"Brother hasn't been the same lately. He sounds depressed when we talk at home and he has been fighting with Asuna." She fiddled with her tea bag as she said this. Lisbeth was trying to hold back her joy at the news of them fighting and tried to sound concerned. but her fake apology was cut short when Suguha glaired at her.

"Its because of you Rika." The timid Leafa was no longer present. This was Kazuto's concerned sister. She cowers at a lot of things but not when it comes to him or his feelings.

"Wha-what?" Lisbeth asked confused.

"Don't play dumb. You have been mean to everyone and we are tired of it. Asuna has been crying nonstop since she left your house. She came over for brothers consolidation but he defended you!"

She had a few tears running down as she said this. When it came to family she was strong but still emotional on the affair.

"Why did he defend me?" Lisbeth asked genuinely suprised that he would do that. especially to a crying Asuna. This added to her feeling that maybe he truly did have feelings for her. Suguha quickly got up and pushed her chair in.

"I don't know. But I do know that he loves her and she loves you as her best friend. Im not sure whats going on in this triangle between you guys but its tearing apart the group." She sniffled and abruptly left the café and went around the corner. Lisbeth chased after her but as she got around to the other side she only caught a glimps of Suguha before she logged out.

Rika logged out immediately after her and threw the Nervegear on the bed. She punched her pillow a few times then burred her face in it to scream. After that she sobbed and clutched her sheets.

The next day Rika went to her schools engineering club building. At least books, tools, and metal parts wont hit her or yell at her for ruining things. This is what she thought as she clamored around her work station. After an hour of trying to do anything she realized this wouldn't help take her mind off of things. Between her father and Kazuto the arm prosthetic she was building was the last thing she wanted to work on. Everything was frustrating her to a boiling point. 'Do I say im sorry to Asuna and go back to admiring him from a distance like before?' She didn't want this. Yes, it would mend a lot of things and ease tension in the group but it made her shiver to think about going back to the friend that hears Asuna brag about the man she loved all the time. 'Being alone and dealing with my father. Thats not fair!' She thought this while pulling a wire through the arm of the prosthetic. Angry, she kept yanking it tell it snapped. The forarm fell away from the elbow and bicep sending the whole arm crashing on the table in pieces. Seeing the mess, she shoved everything off the bench and then cried on it.

"Looks like school isn't helping much." Rika lifted her head puzzled and looked around. Her eye sight was fuzzy from crying but could make out Asada standing beside her and it looked like another person was with her. After her eyes refocused and she wiped them they grew big and a smile followed. Asada was standing there holding the dress.

"H-how did you get that?" She jumped up and started picking up all the stuff she knocked off the desk and apologized for the mess.

"I told my mom I wanted to go to the dance and she gave me money for a dress. I don't want to go so I figured I would buy this one for you." She figured this was the most believable lie since before she told her she was broke.

Rika didn't say anything just started tearing up again but this time out of joy she then hugged Asada and thanked her over and over.

"I promise I'll pay you back." She looked at the dress up and down with a big goofy grin and then gasped. "The dance is tomorrow! How should I do my hair? what about my nails?" As she rambled on Asada tried to get her attention but failed.

"Should I paint them red? or maybe glue on white french tips." She continued to ramble. Asada finally raised her voice and cut Rika off.

"Hey! I need to ask you something before I leave." Rika became silent and Asada pulled up a chair and gestured for her to sit. Once she did Asada grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes. "Whatever he says at the dance just remember, you have friends that love and care about you." With a light smile They nodded at each other and she left. Rika was now alone with her dress and a mind full of ideas for hair, makeup, jewelry, and at the very front of her thoughts was Kazuto. 'This dance is it. Everything will be fixed. He is amazing at everything, always able to fix any problem. He can take me away from my home and we can start a life together.' Rika was a lot like her mother. Very smart but also a hopeless romantic. 'I've come a long way since the quest to build his sword in SAO and im going to show it to him'

Day of the dance

It was dark and rainy outside when Rika woke up. It was only 6 am and the dance wasn't going to start till night time but she couldn't sleep anymore out of excitement. For the next few hours she did her hair different ways and rummaged around for shoes and earings that would match. The main reason she got up early though was to get her mothers necklace. It was in her dads room and he was still passed out on the couch. She poked around a bit tell she found it in one of the dresser drawers. It was silver with a thin chain and a tear drop frame that housed a 3 carat diamond. Her mom always wore it out to dinner and on special occasions. Her father had bought it on there 10 year anniversary. Her mother always captivated and had the unconditional love of her dad so maybe this would do the same for her and Kazuto.

Sneaking back to her room she spent the rest of the day experimenting, wanting everything to look perfect. She had called Kazuto instead of text him out of fear the sister would reply this time and was ecstatic when his voice came on.

"Hey, Rika. How are you feeling?" He asked sounding cool and collected as he always was.

"Hey, umm yes im fine. Just busy lately with things." She really wanted to just ask about the dance but choked up and fell into small talk instead.

"Haha it's good to stay busy but not too busy. You should come back in Akunotou. We are all doing a quest that involves collecting armor fragments scattered throughout the game. The more hands the better." No matter what was going on you could count on Kazuto being the neutral and casual type. Just another feature she loved about him.

"That sounds great but can I ask you something?" Her mind was as far as can be from the game.

"of course. You don't need to ask if you can ask something Rika. We are friends after all." Her face was beat red and she was glad he couldn't see it.

"I-I know that!" Her tsundere side surfaced for a moment and he just laughed.

"I was wondering if you are going to the dance today." She knew he was because she helped get Asuna's dress but wanted to ask anyways.

"Sure am! Asuna spent a lot of time and money on her dress and would kill me if I cancelled." He said while laughing. Rika was sitting on her bed nervously rubbing her unoccupied hand across a pillow on her lap. She was silent for so long that he had to ask if she lost connection.

"Will you save a dance for me?" she blurted out. It startled him since the conversation had gone quiet a moment ago.

"Of course. But im not a great dancer. Im pretty good in games but I may step on your toes so I'm apologizing in advance." She didn't care about that. He could stomp on her feet tell they bled and she would still be content. The phone was silent again but not because she was quite but because she was jumping around her room in excitment trying not to make any noise.

"ummm, Rika you there?" He asked.

"Yes! Sorry, umm I'll see you at the dance. Don't forget about me." She replied snapping back into reality. He laughed and told her it was a promise. once they hung up she started to put everything together for tonight.

While her father was sitting at the kotatsu she managed to sneak past him and kept the necklace hidden. Once she got outside the rain had stopped. This was a good sign seeing that she had to take the train. Last thing she needed was the rain to ruin her make up and dress.

The whole way there she stuck out like a soar thumb. Everyone on the train was looking at her all dressed up and at first it seemed like positive attention till three guys with heavy jackets and beanies made a semi circle around her.

"Wow you look hot! Have a dance? need a date babe?" one of them asked holding the grab rail above her and leaning into her space. She glared at him and then turned her head giving no reply.

"Haha you got rejected!" the one on the left said while he shoved the one leaning in her space. She was about to yell at them to go away but luckily a conductor came back and told them to sit down. The rest of the ride they stared holes into her making it a very long and uncomfortable trip.

Once the train pulled in the station she made her way quickly to the school. One of the guys tried to follow but she managed to get close enough to a crowed by the school he decided to back off and left. She was relieved that was over but as she passed more and more people and went into the large gym her nerves shot up. Everyone was wearing really nice cloths and it made her not feel as special anymore in her dress. Scanning around it didn't take long to spot Asuna and Kazuto, this didn't help how nervous she was. Since she hadn't spoken to Asuna since she came over it was going to be difficult to talk to Kazuto without her present. She decided if talking to Asuna would get her a dance with him it was worth it and she did feel bad about what she said at the time. once the song was over the two went over to the snack table. She figured this was the best time to go up and ask him. As she walked up her phone started going off. With a quick glance she noticed it was her father and just ignored it. Hesitating for a moment she wanted to rehearse what to say but was cut off from thought when Kazuto yelled out.

"Hey, Rika!" He spotted her and walked over along with a silent Asuna. After Rika waved back and they were all next to each other the tension between the two girls was obvious, even to Kazuto. Rika couldn't really admire him in formal wear with the current atmosphere.

"Asuna, I'm sorry for how I acted." Rika knew that the only way things could be semi normal tonight would be to apologize. Asuna looked surprised tilted her head a little and smiled.

"It's ok Rika. Like I said at your house, I'll always be your best friend." To this Rika matched her smile and the two gave each other a hug. Kazuto looked relieved. To him the two at first looked like Gorbachev and Regan meeting at the Reykjavík summit.

For awhile the three ate and talked about progress in Akunotou and school. After some time a slow dance song came on and Rika knew this was her chance. Asuna didn't seem to mind that she wanted to dance with him. In fact she even asked him to dance with her since she didn't have a date.

Kazuto held Rika's hand and guided her to the center of the room. The song was 'Nothings gonna change my love for you' The Kaori saxophone cover. She was so shy that he had to make the first move. Her heart skipped a beat when he grabbed her right hand and twined there fingers together.

"I've done a few songs tonight so I kinda know what im doing." His face was a little red as he said this. His other hand slid behind her waist with palm open holding her close. She turned beat red and it took everything she had to not trip or do anything clumsy as they slow danced. Rika was so lost in the moment that she didn't speak at all.

"Your dress is beautiful. The top reminds me of the game. It kinda has that look to it." Even though she was content with silently dancing he felt the need to converse. She looked up at him and just smiled. Resting her head on his chest a warm glow came over her and she never wanted the song to end. As it was about to though she knew this would be the only time to lay her heart out bare. After this he would probably go back to Asuna for the rest of the night.

"Kazuto." Her voice was so low it could barely be heard.

"Whats up?" He smiled and looked down at her so the two made eye contact. This made her blush uncontrollably as she was now in his spotlight.

"Umm, remember back in SAO when we spent the night together down in that hole?"

He laughed. "Yes, of course. We became good friends after that. Plus that adventure saved me from your wrath when I broke that sword." She had totally forgot about him breaking her best sword. Almost everything that happened before they went out looking for the ore she had forgotten or didn't care to remember.

"That night, I felt something I had never felt before." The song had ended at this point and Kazuto tried to let go of her hands but she kept a hold of them.

"It was a special night. We became friends after that. At least thats how I felt." He said trying not to feel more awkward being held close by her after the song was finished.

Rika looked off to the side for a moment and then looked back up into his eyes.

"I love you." The words came out dry and faltered at the end. Still he was able to hear them. He blushed a bit and let go of one of her hands to scratch the back of his head.

"I love you too as my good friend." He was shocked by her words and didn't know what to say other then that. She let go of his other hand and hugged him tight both her hands on his upper back almost at his shoulders. She burried her face in his chest for a moment then looked up with her head still nestled on him.

"No, not as a friend. I love you love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it but late is better then never." After saying this she burred her face back onto him. He could only see the top of her head since she was cuddled up to him and couldn't notice how anxious and wide open her eyes were waiting for his answer.

"Rika, you are an amazing friend but." He eased her off his chest and put both hands on the outside of her arms like an adult having a serious talk with its child.

"I love Asuna. She has and always will have my heart. I'm sorry." He tried to get a read on her face but bangs covered most of her face. It wasn't until a moment later that he noticed tears rolling down her cheek.

"I really am sorr-" Before he could finish she lunged at him and hugged him tight. Her hands grabbed his back so tight it started to pinch him a little.

"Please...Please love me." Her voice was hoarse and she was choking up. He kept apologizing but she just held him tighter asking him over and over for his love.

"Rika...I'm so sorry." He gave her a hug back then being a little forceful wriggled out of her grip. As he started walking away he turned back to give Rika one last little smile that looked sad and a bit forced. Then turned around again and walked off. She just stood there in the middle of the dance floor. Her senses went blank. As far as she knew, she was the last person in the world. Her tears stopped and a numb feeling overcame her body. She wasn't sad or mad or anything just felt like a void. What brought her back into consciousness was Asuna waving and calling out to her with a big smile. Kazuto was no were to be found. Her body was just sort of on auto pilot when she walked over to Asuna.

"Hey! We haven't hung out or talked in ages. How has everything been? Your father doing ok?" Asuna kept asking questions but Rika just gave her a blank look.

"Hey, are you feeling ok?" Asuna asked genuinely concerned and noticing something was off.

"Where did Kazuto go?" Rika asked in a monotone.

"Oh, he had to go to the bathroom. Figured it was a good chance for us to catch up." Asuna smiled and gave Rika a drink she poured. Grabbing the cup she didn't say anything for a moment. She just looked down at the liquid contents and could see her own emotionless face reflecting back at her.

"Hey, are you sick? Need to sit down?" She asked again out of concern. Rika finally looked up and had a dead look in her eyes as she faced Asuna.

"Did he ever tell you about the time we went on a quest to make his sword in SAO?" The question kinda threw Asuna off as she didn't expect her question to be matched with a question.

"Kinda, he just said you two went out for materials and stuff."

Rika grinned and giggled a bit. "Guess he left out the other part."

"Other part?" Asuna was confused. She thought he had told her everything about his events without her in Aincrad.

"Remember when you told me how good he is in bed?" Rika was still grinning as she asked more confusing questions.

"Y-yes I do." Asuna blushed a little at the subject.

"Lets just say he had some practice before you." Rika just casually laughed as she said this.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Asuna was becoming frantic and started to panic a little inside. She was eating up everything Rika was saying believing it to be true.

"We had to camp out on that quest over night and lets just say, we didn't do much sleeping." Rika was so numb from her rejection it didn't even faze her to say such mean things. Asuna started crying and dropped her drink. Rika was trying to go into details but Asuna ran off twords the door ignoring it. In her oblivious state she ran right into Kazuto coming out of the bathroom knocking him to the ground with her on top of him.

"A-Asuna! woah, whats wrong?" He noticed her face was wet with tears and lips trembling. She gave him a hateful look and smacked his face.

"You bastard!" She grabbed his blazer and started shaking him violently.

"What the hell is going on Asuna?" He looked like a deer in head lights. At this point the whole gym was fixated on them. Everyone was whispering and pointing at them on the floor.

"You slept with Rika and didn't tell me!" She was sad, mad, and confused all at once. When she stopped shaking him she burred her face in his chest and cried uncontrollably.

"The hell!? No, I would never! Asuna, I love you" He lifted up her head to wipe the tears from her face but she smacked his hand away.

"You pervert! Liar! Stay away from me!" She pushed him back down and stood up. Giving him one last look on the ground Asuna then turned around and ran off. Kazuto was stunned and still on the floor with everyone looking at him. Once he did get up he noticed Rika still standing over by the food table. A rage came over him. Rika noticed this and was shocked to see him in such a state. He was always cool and collected. This was the first time she had seen this look. He walked up to her with tears in his eyes. Truly a rare sight from him.

"What happened with Asu-" Before she could finish he smacked the drink out of her hand. This startled her and made her jump.

"I'm done with this! I'm done defending you, Rika! Everyone hates you and I kept going up to bat for you. I've been fighting with Asuna and my sister because I believed you were a good person despite how you have been acting. What did Asuna and I ever do to you to deserve this?" He was just inches from her face with eyes wide open. She was so stunned nothing could come out of her mouth.

"Well im done. We are no longer friends, Rika. I hope whatever problems you have get better." With that he took off running in the direction Asuna went.

Rika started crying and fell to her knees. 'What have I done?' She thought with both hands craddling her face. She continued cried as the whole school looked at her. She had been so caught up in everything going on it wasn't until now that she felt her phone go off again. Pulling it out it showed 5 missed calls from her dad and a text from him.

[You took mom's necklace and didn't even ask me. I can't get ahold of you so im coming to your school]

She was upset that he found out about her taking the necklace but with everything that just happened she really didn't care. Her father could yell and smack her all he wanted. After all to her, she had just lost everything that ever mattered. Soon the same numb feeling came back and she walked out to the parking lot. The rain was pouring down down and it started messing up her hair and getting her dress all wet but she didn't care. She just stood out there lost in her own world letting the rain wash away her make up and drench her body.

"Hey, get in the car!" She looked by the road to see her father had pulled up. He looked mad but that was nothing new. He was always mad. She thought. Walking up she got in the car and didn't say anything. He was yelling at her about the necklace and leaving without saying anything but she just ignored him and looked out the passanger window. He noticed this and smacked her face. She gave a little cry but then resumed lookong out the window.

"Don't ignore me you brat!" He clenched his teeth and smacked her cheek again. This time she turned and shoved his arm.

"Stop it you ass hole!" She wasn't sad or shocked anymore that he struck her just pissed off.

"What did you say?" He raised his hand again but Rika just looked right at him unfazed.

"Why do you get to be angry? You killed mom! You drink and don't work! Why is it all about you?!" She had her eyes closed as she yelled at him. He just scowled at her and smacked her face again. She cried out and then grabbed the door handle.

"Let me out of the car, now!" She started opening the door without caring that the vehicle was in motion. He panicked and slammed the brakes. once it stopped she immediately got out and ran off to the sidewalk. Ignoring him calling out to her and not caring where she was going she just ran in the opposite direction of his car. For a good half an hour she mindlessly wondered in the rain till she came up to a convenient store. As she was about to go inside to dry off and warm up she noticed something moving in the alley next to it.

"Oh ho! Talk about a small world." Fear washed over her as she recognized the voice. Slowly backing away from the store she could clearly see the three guys from the train come into view.

"Damn girl, you look like a mess! Date not go well?" One of the other ones asked as they all three slowly approached her.

"Leave me alone." Rika tried to yell it but her voice was lost with fear taking over.

"Whats that little rabbit? Come closer so I can hear you." The one that hit on her earlier said as he closed in. Rika knew she should run but was grounded in terror. Knowing she couldn't outrun them in the streets she tried to dash for the convenient store. Noticing this the three guys blocked her path and made a circle around her cutting off any escape.

"Please, Please! I'm begging you! leave me alone!" Rika tried to run for a gap between two of them but was easily caught. The one that hit on her grabbed her sides and swung her around with her own momentum sending her right into his body.

"Woah, easy girl. So forceful on a first date." He held her tight as she tried to struggle out of his grip. He grinned and brought his face down to hers. "How about we take it slow first." He laughed but it was cut short shen Rika spit on his face. He let go and she immediately tried to run but only to end up being caught by the other two. Each held an arm and the other wiped his face and walked back up to her.

"Stupid bitch! I was gonna dine and wine you but with that attitude im just going to get right to the good stuff." As he said this one of his hands was holding her face forcing her to look at him and the other fondled her chest. Rika tried to scream again but one of the other guys covered her mouth. As he did that she felt something small and round touch her tongue. Trying to spit it out he held his hand tight against her so she couldn't and it quickly desolved.

"That should help make you less of a bitch." the one feeling her up said. All three of them dragged her off the street and back into the alleyway. The two on the side started ripping the dress off and while they did this the one groping her noticed the necklace she was wearing.

"This is pretty." He grabbed it and ripped it off her neck.

"Consider this making us even for rejecting me on the train." He laughed and pocketed the necklace. At this point Rika was feeling light headed. She started drifing in and out of consciousness. The three men became fuzzy blobs and ther voices muffled. They didn't even bother to cover her mouth at this point. She tried screaming but it was so faint that not even she could hear it. before passing out she looked behind the three guys and noticed another figure approaching them from the alley entrance. She mouthed the words 'help me' and then passed out.


	4. part 4

Author babble take 2: Hey, thanks for the comments and support! I'm new to fanfiction so the way im formating this story is wrong. After part 2 I realized you can update stories. To keep myself from spamming anymore parts on the sao page and not confuse people by just updating part 3 I'll just add on to this one till the story is finished. Also I got first and family names mixed up in japanese so you will noticed Tsuboi goes by Ryoutarou now. I apologize for this and for how long this one has taken to come out.

Tsuboi residence 13 years

"Yes, ok, I understand." Ryoutarou's father's tone was apologetic on the phone but his face wrinkled with fury as he stared at his son who sat with his eyes averted to the floor next to his father. His mother just looked at him in silence then left the room without a word. Once he hung up after a few more apologies his father walked up and smacked Ryoutarou across the face. This hurt much more then normal since he already had brusies and cuts there.

"Another fight?!" His father yelled. Ryoutarou just continued to gaze at the floor. Since he showed no sign of replying his father raised his hand again. This time however when his open hand landed it met with a soft cheek that was smaller. The impacted person gave a cry in a high pitch tone. It startled his father and when he looked down a small girl was holding her now red throbbing cheek.

"Amami! I'm so sorry." The father caressed her and gently inspected the area he hit. When he did this Amami shoved his hand away.

"Little brother didn't do anything wrong!" She yelled with her eyes closed. With her age and build, it paired well with her tiny voice. She sounded more cute then anything. The father clearly still fuming at his son, did manage to calm down a bit and regain composer with her presence.

"Why can't you be more like your sister? She has good grades, never fights at school, and is already being recognized by art schools for her talent." His father walked up and leaned over him. "All the while you just start trouble. If you mess up again this will be the third school you have been expelled from." Amami once again put herself between them.

"He was defending a boy being bullied at school." Ryoutarou's sister held his head against her chest as she glared at her father. After opening his mouth and not saying anything a few times he finally caved in her presence. With one final warning the father left the room in aggravation. Ryoutarou sat quietly in his sister's embrace. The warmth she was giving him was very one sided.

"You don't need to defend me." He said showing no sign of gratitude. He looked up and gave her a cold stare. "Why don't you go back to being Ms. perfect and leave me alone." He shoved her off and ran upstairs to his room slamming the door. Amami didn't seemed fazed by his reaction. She was used to him acting this way around her now. Ever since she started becoming noticed for her art skill their parents have focused almost all the effort on her. As an older sister it felt like her responsibility to take care of a younger brother, especially one that was attention starved. A part of her felt that he was fighting in school to get some kind of attention from the parents. Even though it can become exausting she still always put effort into showing him he is loved by someone. So after a deep breath and composing herself she walked upstairs and knocked on his door.

"Little brother, no one will say it, but I will." Her voice was soft and sweet as she spoke through the door. "Thank you for helping him." To this he didn't reply just remained silent hoping she would just leave. Instead however she asked if it was ok to come in. He just grunted 'whatever' So she slowly opened the door and walked up to him buried in the blankets. She tried to pull the covers off his head but he just gripped the ends and pulled them back over his face.

"Can I at least help clean up your face? I don't want anything to get infected." She smiled as she said this and tried pulling the covers off again. This time there was no resistance he just turned on his back and lay there silently looking off to the side. She grabbed a first aid kit from the bathroom and started swabbing his cuts. He flinched at the stinging sensation of the alcohol but other then that made no expression.

"I wish I was brave like you." She said breaking the silence. He just continued looking off into space. Once she finished with one side she grabbed his chin and moved it so she could reach his other cuts. This made it so he had to look directly at her. She just gave an innocent smile as they made awkward eye contact.

"I'm not anything special. You shouldn't wish to be anything like me." He felt his answer was true. His father was one of the heads of a computer hardware company and would always pride himself on the ability to tell a good, smart, hard working person from an indolent one. Thats why he was always a boon for the company when hiring people. So when his father told him he wasn't any good, it was easy to take it to heart. His mother never defended him either. She was a simple stay at home wife that always remained silent when issues came up in the household. She would just leave all the calls to dad and never butt in even though it was obvious at times her opinion differed from his.

"If someone was getting beat up in front of me, I would freeze up or just run away. It takes a lot of bravery and a big heart to throw yourself into something like that. Especially when the odds are stacked against you." She finished cleaning his face and placed a few bandaids on the open cuts. "You are like a knight!" She said putting away the medical supplies.

"A naito?" He said showing obvious confusion at the word. Amami just giggled and sat back down at his bed side.

"A knight. I've been learning about them in my german class. Long ago they were warriors that did nice deeds for the common folk." She explained. Since she was smarter then most people her age the school she went to let her take college level extra curriculars and one of them was a german language and history course.

"That sounds like a samurai and samurai's are cooler." He retorted.

"True. But knights did it out of there hearts while samurai did it for whoever paid them most of the time."

She rebuttled. Ryoutarou scoffed.

"Samurai's are smart then. A knight must be pretty dumb to risk his life for nothing in return. Even dad says if your good at something dont do it for free." To this Amami just giggled and kissed him on the forehead. He blushed a little then swatted her away.

"You are too sweet to be a samurai. You are Klein the knight!" She grabbed a ruler off of the desk in his room and tapped each of his shoulders with it.

"Klein? Whats that? Another dumb warrior that dies for free?" He asked brushing the ruler away from his shoulder. She just laughed.

"Klein is german for small or little. You are my little knight." She proclaimed holding the ruler in front of her face like a blade.

"L-little?! Thats stupid. That is a stupid warrior name and I told you knight's are dumb." He crossed his arms and pouted. Amami put the ruler back on the desk and walked over to the door then paused.

"Can you promise me something?" She asked with her back turned to him. Ryoutarou sighed in exasperation.

"If it gets you out of my room, sure." He replied impatiently. Amami opened the door and then at the threshold turned her head slightly and gave a subtle grin.

"The person you are deep down inside, never change that, Promise?" Her tone was serious and that was rare for her since she was always so carefree.

"Why?" He asked in confused.

"I have a feeling one day you will be someones knight and it could save their life." She said.

Tsuboi just sat in silence for a moment. He was still lost on what she was getting at but agreed anyways. He just wanted her out of his room more then anything at this point.

"Sure, fine, whatever. But stop calling me a knight!" he smacked his fist on the bed as he said this. Amami just giggled and muttered to herself 'Knight Klein'. When he heard this he tried throwing a pillow at her but she had already left and closed the door. 'Stupid sister' he thought to himself.

Rika woke up to the sound of humming and beeping machines. The florescent lighting strained her eye's as they refocused. Once she became lucid it was clear she was in bed at a hospital. In the corner of the room was her father. He had his arms folded and was clearly asleep. After a few minutes a nurse came in and noticed she had regained consciousness.

"Well hello sweety." Her greeting was warm and peaceful. Rika mumbled a response back but the lady was to busy taking her vitals to notice. Shortly after her the doctor came in and held a flashlight to her eyes.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked as he continued to shine the light back and forth.

"R-Rika Shinozaki." Her voice was hoarse and throat burned from how dry it was. The nurse gave her some water and the doctor continued asking simple questions as he did basic motor function test on her.

"What happened?" Rika asked. The doctor grabbed the 24 hour report on the foot of her bed and flipped through it.

"You got drugged. Luckily, the dose was small but we still gave you an IV to flush it all out."He put the report back and smiled.

"No signs of physical damage. By the looks of things you will be able to leave in a couple of hours." After saying this he whispered something to the nurse then left. She walked over to the corner and woke up Rika's dad. He lept up out of his seat and immediately was at her bed side.

"Rika! Are you ok? How are you feeling?" He was anxious and genuinely concerned.

"Dad, what happened?" She asked trying to remember the events after leaving the dance.

"The police found you unconscious in an alleyway. I was so worried." He started to tear up.

"I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible father for letting you run off." He grabbed Rika and gave her a long hug. The two talked a bit more before a man walked in wearing a local police uniform. The moment her father noticed the man he got up immediatly and walked up to him.

"Did you catch them? What about that guy here at the hospital, did he wake up yet?" Her father kept bambarding the officer with questions.

"No, not yet. I do need to speak with your daughter though." He answered as he walked up to Rika. She trembled a bit at the presence of an authoritative figure looming over her bedside.

"I know you just woke up a little while ago but can you tell me what you remember? Specifically, what happened in the alleyway?" He pulled out a small note pad as he asked. She told him about the three men that attacked her in the alley and how they stole her mothers necklace.

"Did you get a good look at their faces, Tattoo's, any distinct details?" He continued to ask and as Rika strained to think of there details she just drew a blank. The night before her mind was so occupied with the events of the dance and how scared she was when they hassled her, it felt pathetic to her just how little information she was able to give the officer. With no real details to go on he reached in his breast pocket and pulled out a photo of a young man in his mid twenties.

"Does this man look familiar?" He asked holding the photo up to her. It didn't take long looking it over to recognize the face.

"Is that...Ryoutarou?" It was obvious a photo of him but she was just confused as to why a cop was showing her a photo of him.

"So you do know him. Did this man attack you?" Even though her memory was vague there was no way he was one them. After denying his presence in the alley she did suddenly remember a figure standing at a distance before passing out but couldn't say for sure it was him. The officer scratched the back of his head and put the notebook away.

"When he wakes up I'll try asking him a few questions so we can catch the people that did this." He turned to the father and gave him a card with the local police departments number on it then looked back at Rika.

"If you remember anything else don't hesitate to call us." The officer started to make his way to the door and was stopped by Rika's voice.

"When he wakes up?" She asked confused.

"Yes, he was found next to you in the alley, passed out from blood loss." Rika's eye's went wide and she tried to get out of bed. Her father stopped her since the IV was still hooked up to her arm.

"Is he here, is he going to be ok!?" She frantically asked.

"Yes he is, the doctor said he is stable but whatever happened last night, he took the grunt of it for sure." The officer said. Now she was just as eager to know what Ryoutarou's events of the night before were. After the officer left and the IV finished Rika was clear to leave the hospital.

She asked about visiting him but they wouldn't let her till he woke up and the police questioned him first. Her father gave her a bag the police gave him of her posessions before being hospitalized. In the bag was her now torn up muddy dress and a zip lock, it had her cell phone inside it. She turned it on and had a missed call and text from Asada asking where she was at. There was a slew of missed calls from Asuna and a long few page text from her that basically told her they should keep some distance for awhile, for the sake of her relationship with Kazuto. Rika felt embarrassed and wave of guilt washed over her for what she had said that night. She texted back an apology but never got a reply.

The next day she went to the hospital wanting an update on His condition. The nurse at the front desk told her he was awake and could now take visitors. Once she arrived at his room it surprised her to find a tall mature woman in her mid to late 20's standing by his bed. Glancing at Ryoutarou Rika recognized him but didn't have the faintest clue as to who she was. Rika tapped on the door before stepping inside. The woman turned around and looked exausted. Her eye's looked sore from tears and her hair was a mess. Ryoutarou turned his head also and saw her standing in the doorway.

"Yo, it's the mace maiden, how are you feeling?" He asked then caughed. The woman turned her focus back to him and told him not to strain himself.

"I should be asking you that." Rika said as she walked up next to the woman and looked over him. About midway down, the blanket started to form a blood spot.

"Looks like that cough opened up the stitches again." The lady said as she hit the nurse call button. Rika frantically apologized but Ryoutarou just brushed it off. She tried asking him about what happened in the alleyway but the nurse came in almost immediately so Rika and the other woman got kicked out. They stood silent in the hall for awhile when finally the woman broke the ice.

"You seem kinda young but I wont judge." She looked Rika up and down as she said this and smiled.

"Pardon?" Rika asked confused. The lady just laughed.

"Aren't you my little brother's girlfriend?" The assumption sent her completely into the left field. She blushed and denied it. The lady started to pout at Rika's response.

"And here I hoped I was talking to my future sister in law." The thought of being married to him almost made her faint. If this lady kept assuming things like this she would need to recheck into the hospital.

"W-we are just friends online, we party up sometimes and play games." Rika said trying to quickly clarify her actual status with him. The lady stopped pouting and smiled again at Rika.

"I'm Amami, Ryoutarou's older sister. Do you have another name besides Mace Maiden?" She asked trying to close the gap between them as strangers.

"I'm Rika." She bowed to Amami as a formal way to greet. Instead of returning the bow Amami rushed up and gave Rika a big hug. This made her completly lose composure. She struggled to break free as this crazy lady was trying to coddle her to death. Amami held her like a stuffed animal and complemented her on how cute she was. At first it was annoying to Rika but once she smelled Amami's perfume and felt the warmth from her hug it reminded her of her mother. It was relieving to feel dependant in someone else's arms. Something Rika had grown cold from. Late in the hug she finally lifted her arms up and squeezed back.

"I didn't even know he had a sister, you dont seem like him at all." Rika said as they finished hugging. Amami was aware of how different she was from him so she didn't even ask Rika why that was.

"Probably because him and I had very different childhoods." The two walked over to the waiting area and sat down.

"Oh, are you two half siblings or adopted?" Rika asked. Amami laughed and pulled out a photo from her purse. She held it up for Rika to see. It was at a beach and looked pretty old. There was a very unamused little boy and at about the same height was a girl wearing a smile big enough for both of them.

"No, same parents, same house, very, very different lives. He grew up alone for the most part." She showed a few more photo's as she talked. Rika had a hard time believing he had such a lonely childhood. By the looks of the pictures he had two parents and a sister. She was a only child and her mother was gone. So it was difficult to understand what Amami ment by 'lonely'.

"I'm afraid I already know the answer but, what happened to him?" She was enjoying this moment with Ryoutarou's sister but couldn't get that burning question out of her mind she desperately wanted to fill in the gaps. Amami sighed and put the pictures back in her purse.

"He told me some guys attacked you so he rushed in to fight them off. He took two of them down easy but one had a knife and stabbed him." She looked at Rika and could get an easy read on her face. It said 'Its all my fault' Amami grabbed her hands and held them up at chest height. "It's not your fault sweety, he always was like this and probably always will be." She gave a warm reassuring smile that put Rika slightly at ease. "I'm gussing the guy panicked after stabbing my brother and ran off. Because the convenience store owner found you both unconscious in the alley and no one else." Even with Amami's warm charm Rika started to sob uncontrollably. She couldn't help but think about how many peoples lives she ruined in one night.

"I-I should leave." Rika stuttered through her tears as she tried to tear away from Amami's hands. Her grip held firm and showed her insistence that Rika stay.

"One thing you should learn about my brother is he is always going to do what he wants. Don't apologize or feel guilt for him being him." She wiped the tears on Rika's face away in a motherly manner. It was then that she noticed the light dots on her cheeks.

"You have freckles!" Amami's admiration almost startled Rika and the strong hint of envy from her voice made it hard to reply.

"Y-yes." She said now self conscious of her face. Rika was always back and forth with her freckles. Some days she felt they were a rare and unique beauty mark, especially in japan. But also sometimes it made her feel left out. Seeing all the smooth silky white skin of the others girls made her face look dirty. So sometimes she would cover them up with natural foundation.

"How did you win that genetic lottery?" Amami asked as she continued to inappropriately stare at her face.

"M-my mom was foreign." She replied looking in any direction that didn't meet Amami's gaze.

"Wow, I would love to see your mom. I bet she is beautiful." It didn't take long for her to notice she hit a sore spot when Rika's facial expression changed.

"She...She was very beautiful." Rika let go of Amami's hands and turned to the side. She looked at the floor in silence. Even though the conversation went into a bad wall it didn't stop Amami from talking to her.

"Can I say something bold?" Amami asked. Rika just nooded without saying a word.

"I'll bet those freckles are her kisses. They say in the west that freckles are angel kisses." Rika could see how this was bold. A lot of people could be easily offended by it but it was true. Rika did think about that from time to time. She still had them when her mother was alive but it was still a warm thought to hold onto.

"Some nights...I talk to her. And-" Rika started to blush a bit in embarrassment before continuing.

"And I would count all my spots then ask her for a kiss. The next morning I would count again to see if I had anymore." She started to question herself as to why she would tell this to someone she had just met. Asuna, her father, no one knew about that. Maybe it was all the recent events or maybe Amami had an aura about her that could be trusted with anything you said. Either way she seemed to enjoy this motherly figures presence. The two talked for awhile till the nurse came out and said they could see him again. As they walked back to the room it was a suprise to both when they found two new people standing by his bed.

"Mom? Dad?" Amami recognized them quickly and gave them hugs. They looked a bit over middle aged. His mom had a calm expression that showed relief but the father seemed irritated.

"I miss work and come 2 hours down here by train to find out you got in a gang fight or something?" The father said showing no sentiment for his injured son. Ryoutarou's reaction suprised Rika when he just casually answered back to such mean words.

"Yo pops, i'm doing ok, thanks for asking." He replied as if his father had said something completly different. His dad clicked his tongue and left the room. Amami came up and took his place by Ryoutarou's bedside. "He doesn't change does he sis?" She ignored him and flicked his forehead.

"Thats for opening up the wound again. You are going to kill yourself litterally if you keep talking and dont get rest." She was genuinely happy to see him in high spirits but was taking priority as his big sister first.

"Gah! Ok, ok I'll behave." He looked around his sister to see Rika standing bashful in the threshold of the room. "Yo mace maiden, my sister isn't bugging you too much, is she?" As he asked his sister puffed out her cheeks and flicked him in the same spot. "I'm going to have to up my morphine if you keep doing that!" To this she just raised her hand again for a third flick. Getting the message he remained silent.

"If you must know, her and I are basically best friends now, in fact she is like the good sibling I never had." Ryoutarou urked as she said this.

"I'm pretty cold from blood loss but that dropped it a few more degrees for me." He said with his face scrunched and eyes closed. Even in a state like this I guess siblings still had to tease each other. This was what Rika thought as the two continued to banter back and forth. In the middle of there bickering he looked over at Rika again.

"Yo little sis wanna intervene before she flicks me into a coma?" Rika was caught of guard by his 'little sister' comment and started to get embarrassed.

"Little sister?! No she is my little sister, not yours!" Amami exclaimed folding her arms.

"But if she is your little sister then that makes her my little sister too!" He argued. The two locked back into a arbitrary battle and Rika was once again at the sidelines watching the bloodshed.

"Well im more of a bigger brother to her then you are a bigger sister, right mace maiden?" He figured this battle could only be won decisively with her answer. Rika glared at him.

"Since you keep calling me mace maiden, Amami is the better bigger sibling." That name did irritate her but most of all she just wanted the argument to end. Ryoutarou sunk back in his pillow in defeat and Amami did a very 'mature' victory dance with a finishing tongue out and hands to the sides of her face gesture. It made Rika giggle to watch people as old as them act like children.

"Hey." Ryoutarou said sofly. His sister stopped her dance and Rika was caught of guard by how serious he sounded.

"Yes?" Rika replied looking a bit confused. His expression turned to a gentle smile. One that she had never seen him make. He always had a big goofy grin and was usually off putting with how boisterous he was. This look though was worlds different to Rika. She was looking at a completly different person.

"I'm glad you are safe." He locked eyes with her for a little longer after saying that then turned his head so he was looking back at the ceiling again and closed his eyes. Rika didn't know what to say. She felt completly indebted to him. so much that a 'Thank you' felt like it wouldn't begin to be enough compensation. She walked up to his bedside and looked at his face. She could see the brusing and swelling around his eyes and jaw area in vivid detail. It only made her guilt grow.

"I'll come visit every day. If you need anything just ask, it's the least I can do." She felt this was the best and only real offer she could give in return for saving her. He gave a slight nod and kept his eyes closed. It seemed really fast to be already drifting off into sleep but he did lose a lot of blood. Rika and Amami stood over him for a bit longer before they hugged and Rika bid her farewell. After she left and Amami was alone in the room she stroked Ryoutarou's hair and muttered 'Knight Klein'.

Akunotou:56th floor

Asuna panted as the last of her mana was drained. The massive gelatinous creature was immune to physical attacks so she had relentlessly projectiled every type of magic at it that she knew. Fire, wind, shadow, water, nothing seemed to affect the monsters health. Her lack of progress was mostly due to exhaustion. After the dance she had been on a two day marathon playing the game. Avoiding any and all contact with everyone. Rika's words kept echoing in her mind and the mean things she said to Kazuto. It was a situation she wasn't used to. Asuna had always been a Beacon to friends, always loved by everyone and loved everyone in return.

The creature extended part of its body into a pillar shaped limb and swung it with awesome speed. Asuna was unable to dodge it. The impact sent her flying backwards and rolling across the ground. Her health was now less then 25% and she had no more potions or mana to continue the fight. It didn't bother her too much though. This would be the third time she has fallen to this boss. It was really ment to be faught with a full party but she figured the challenge would keep her mind occupied from other things. She got up and took a few more good stabs at it with her rapier, but to no avail. It swung down one more time, grinding her into the earth and finishing her health bar.

once she respawned at a floating stone it was off to the boss again. This time however out of thin air, Yui assimilated in front of her blocking the path.

"Y-yui, Why are you here?" Asuna asked suprised. Usually she would never come out unless it was requested or she came up in conversation in game. It was rare for her to appear with no insentive.

She was wearing a knee length white dress that had a long silk white ribbon belt that went around her waist askew. On her head was a small half size top hat with quills and a pocket watch centered in the feathers.

"Mom, I can tell you data I've gathered on the boss. It will help you win against it." Yui said timidly.

"Don't worry Yui, I can beat it on my own." Asuna gave a forced smile as she said this. The kind a parent gives its child when they don't want there burdens passed on to there kids. Yui walked up and hugged Asuna then looked around the area to see that no other players were around.

"Why haven't you played with daddy, mom?" She continued to hug Asuna as she asked. It was hard for her to answer. Even though Yui was an AI it still didn't feel right to make her worry about problems in the real world she has no power in.

"He has just been busy lately." Asuna took a knee to be at eye level with Yui. "Actually, how about you come and help mommy beat this monster." She wanted to continue the fight alone but having Yui help would be better then having to dodge questions. The two shared a smile then made for the boss area.

"I've collected some data on a previous player that defeated it. You have to use the environment in some way to first make it vulnerable to players attacks." Yui said. She was nice enough to not say what part of the environment or give to much info to keep things fun for Asuna. Most gamers get aggrivated when they are stuck, but hate it even more when told exactly what to do. Asuna nodded and as they arrived in the area she scanned around for anything that could possibly harm a massive gelatinous creature.

'Maybe if I use a wind cutter spell on that tree to drop it on the monster.' She thought but then quickly disregarded it when she realized a tree was just a big physical weapon and her rapier proved that doesn't work.

"I was thinking the glyphs carved in the ground around the area may have something to do with the fight." The voice came from right behind Asuna and scared her half to death. She turned around to find Kazuto standing there with an awkward grin. This was the first time the two have talked since the dance.

"Maybe." Was Asuna's only reply. She moved closer to the creature and looked around at the floor carvings. She did have an account of them lighting up and random times when she was fighting the creature but ignored them. The more she studied the surrounding and remembered the last fight it became painfully obvious the glyphs made it vulnerable. Asuna started at the boss when letters flashed in front of her. 'Kirito wishes to party with you' It had a yes or no option under the floating text. After hesitating for a moment she motioned to push no but Kirito stopped her.

"Hey, wait! Lets fight it together. Then-" He paused and walked up right to Asuna's side.

"Then we should talk." To this she just nodded in agreement and agreed to forming the party.

"Go get'em mom and dad." Yui said pumping an arm in the air with a cute little smile. Asuna and Kirito looked back at her and smiled then made there way to the boss.

As soon as it noticed them and aggro was pulled the glyphs started to light up. They both stood on the first cluster of them that illuminated till the monster was about to attack then dodged to the side. When the gel like appendage hit the symbols it shreaked in pain and started to make a regurgitating sound. Shortly after it threw up bones and debris from its innards and the monster as a whole became smaller in mass.

"Thats it! We just need to keep shaving it down till it's a jello snack." Kirito said as he lead the way to the next set of glowing Carvings. They both continued this pattern of leading and dodging till the creature was about the size of Asuna and Kirito. After that the glyphs stopped lighting up and that was there signal to unleash on it. The two organized there attacks between cooldowns so it was always being struck. In its weakened state it didn't take long to fel it.

"Finish it Asuna!" Kirito said as he pulled back. His skills all now on cooldown it left the final blow to her. She sunk the rapier right in its center dealing the final blow. It turned bright blue and shattered leaving a small chest where it once stood.

"That made it much easier, though I must say soloing it would have still been tough. Even with knowing what to do." He said as they looted the chest. It wasn't long afterwords that the buzz of victory faded and things went silent again. Yui ran up and congratulated them with hugs.

"Hey, Yui. Can mom and dad talk for a bit alone? You know adult stuff." Kirito asked as they hugged. Yui nodded and pixelated into thin air. Now the two stood alone in a large empty boss room.

"About what happened at the dance. Whatever she told you. Its not-" Kirito stopped talking when he noticed Asuna's shoulders twitched and she started crying. He ran up and put his arms around her. She grabbed onto his back and held her face against his chest as she sobbed. The two stood that way for awhile. Kirito rested his head on top of hers as she cried. After the hug they both held hands and walked over to a fallen tree and sat side by side on its trunk.

"I knew she was lying." Asuna said as she looked off in the distance. Kirito looked confused because the way she reacted at the dance said otherwise.

"It's hard believing you know everything about someone and in reality not know a thing about them." She continued. Kirito went to speak but was cut off when Asuna turned and looked at him. Even in game he could see her eyes looked exausted.

"I wanted to believe my best friend had come back to me and I wanted it so bad that I let anything she said go to my core. I wanted to believe so bad that she wouldn't do something so mean that I almost let it ruin our relationship." Asuna stopped talking and grabbed both of Kiritos hands. She leaned in and gave him a short soft kiss. "I'm sorry I overreacted. I just got scared. If she felt this way and I had no clue, what about everyone else? Seeing her fall apart and do what she did made me think. What if our other friends feel that way? Shino, Kotone, suguha, everyone else. What if they all have hidden feelings like Rika?" Asuna started crying again and put her face against his shoulder.

"You can't know everything Asuna, can't control it either, what happened is not your fault." Kirito said as he comforted her. It was true that Asuna had a charismatic side that made her a magnet to people. She was always loved by everyone so a situation like this would hit harder then a normal person.

"I looked at our group of friends and felt everything was perfect. But now, I just don't know anymore." She scooted closer and cuddled up to his side. It became obvious to him that she wanted to vent more then anything but to be sure he held out a hand and rested his palm against her cheek.

"I love you Asuna, you can always rest assured that I have no hidden feelings or thoughts you don't know about." He lifted her face up so they could make eye contact. "And if I ever did, I would always tell you." Once he finshed talking the two kissed passionately.

2 days later...

"He gets released today, thats great!" Rika was on the phone with Amami. The two had exchanged numbers after the second time she came to visit Ryoutarou at the hospital. The two talked a lot and became quick friends. Something about being around the two helped her forget about things and feel at ease. She asked if Amami needed help getting him home. "Of course, I'll be right there." Rika hung up and quickly got ready.

Once she arrived at the room their was a standing Ryoutarou. He looked like a baby calf or fawn learning to walk for the first time. Putting most of his weight on the crutches he stumbled to the wheelchair Amami was holding in place. It wasn't until after he clumsily plopped down that he noticed Rika standing at the door.

"Yo." He tried to casually greet her but the pain from his transfer showed. Once Amami noticed her presence she got excited and ran over to give another unannounced hug.

"Glad you could make it, how big of a baby he is being we will probably have to carry him upstairs to his place." Amami said looking down at Ryoutarou pitifully.

"I got stabbed and you say I'm being a baby!" He started to shake in the wheelchair throwing a tantrum that only proved her point. Rika giggled, she liked coming to see him and Amami. Something about there innocent and playful banter gave her peace of mind.

"And if you keep acting like that it will only make that stab wound worse." Amami wheeled him next to Rika. "Hey, do you mind pushing him? I need to grab his stuff." Amami asked as she collected his belongings in the room. Rika nodded and pushed him out to the car with Amami following behind.

"So Mace maiden, hows everyone? I've been out of the loop." Ryoutarou asked as they drove to his appartment. She was silent at first due to the fact that she didn't know how anyone was. Aside from her apology to Asuna that has still gone unreplied and a few text to Asada she hadn't talked to anyone.

"Everyone is ok, nothing new really." As she said this, Amami and Ryoutarou looked at each other. It was obvious to them something was out of place.

"So I have to ask, why were you in that alley, that place was pretty far from the school." He asked. After finding her that night he had been curious why she would have been so far away from the school and alone at that time. The last thing Rika wanted to do was talk about the events before. Aside from making sure Ryoutarou was ok the other main reason she liked to be around them was to escape the reminders of her problems.

"I was hungry and took the bus over to the store." She lied.

Her words felt off to him but it was clear she didn't want to talk about what actually happened so he stopped asking questions.

"My brother says you are quite popular at school. He tells me you play games with a large group of friends. That must be nice." Amami said making conversation. To Rika right now a big group of friends just ment drama and problems but she just replied that it was nice having them.

"I didn't have many friends growing up. Always changing school and going abroad made it hard to get to know anyone." Amami continued talking about how Ryoutarou was, in a way, her best friend. When you cant be around someone long enough to know them family members tend to take over as friends.

"Your life must be super sad if I'm your best friend." Ryoutarou said sarcastically. Amami moved her hand by his stab wound and threatened to poke it till he apologized for the remark.

"You were at a dance? Did you have a date with a cute boy?" Amami asked. She didn't realize it but her questions were quickly moving into tender areas for Rika at the moment.

"No, just to be around friends." She replied. This got Ryoutarou confused because Asada had told him about her obsession with Kazuto. Even though he wanted to question it he figured it was best to leave it be for now.

Once they arrived it was quickly realized that without Rika, Amami would have probably never got him up the stairs alone. It took both of them arm in arm to help him up the steps. Once they reached his floor, Ouno stepped out of her apartment. She looked over at the two girls carrying him.

"First that beauty with the glasses and now you have two pretty, young girls litterally carrying you around. I'm starting to faulter at the idea I have a chance with you." Ouno said in her usual playful manner. Rika and Amami let him go almost dropping him and quickly clarified the situation. Ouno looked at Rika and shook her head.

"Another really young one I see. I figured you for the mature type." She patted at her grey hair as she said this. Rika blushed and denied it being anything like the lady was thinking. She just laughed.

"You reacted just like that other girl your age." When she said this both Rika and Amami glared down Ryoutarou.

"yeah, what about that other girl?" They said at the same time boring holes into him with there eye's. He started to sweat and felt like a cornered animal.

"Jeez im feeling light headed, man oh man better get inside and get some rest. Thanks for the help." As he said this he tried opening the door but it was locked. Behind him he heard the jingling of keys. He turned around and found the exact same killing looks as before but also Amami was holding up his apartment keys.

"How about we chat a bit first then go inside." Amami said with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. While she looked and sounded nice the vib Ryoutarou got said the complete opposite.

"Wait, you said she had glasses and was about my age?" Rika asked looking at Ouno. After thinking for a moment she started to put two and two together. Ryoutarouniticed this and started to get anxious. He knew she was about to figure out that Asada had come by and then a whole bunch of questions would come up.

"Why yes she had her bangs tied to each side in the front with white bands and was very cute. Made me jealous, though now I see she was only the surface." Oudo said.

Now Rika was almost certain it was Asada. All the details matched perfectly but the one thing that made her hesitant to believe it was her is because it was confusing as to why she would have come here.

"You really shouldn't be dating under aged girls." Amami said shaking her head.

"As much as I love being relentlessly teased I am actually starting to get light headed." Ryoutarou replied as he stumbled a bit trying to keep his balance. Once they noticed this She quickly opened the door and the girls said bye to Ouno before helping him to the couch. Once he was settled Amami left to grab some things from the store to cook dinner leaving him and Rika by themselves together.

"Sorry about the mess." He said. Without Amami there as a middle man to start conversations it felt a bit awkward between the two.

"I figured your place would look something like this so im not suprised." She chuckled but then things quickly went silent again.

"She was talking about Shino, huh?" Rika finally asked. As much as he wanted to deny it, there was no point. She clearly already knew but just wanted him to say it.

"Yes, she stopped by a while back." He replied. Giving her a bare minimum answer.

"Why would she come here? I've seen you two interact online and didn't think you guys would be friends offline." She asked unsatisfied with his answer.

Now cornered, Ryoutarou had to tell the truth or bad rumors could start and he didn't want to know what kind of retribution Asada would rain down on him if that happened.

"I may have... Bought your dress." He scratched the back of his head and looked in every direction that wasn't Rika's. "And told her to tell you she got it." He gave an awkward little laugh at the end of his sentence.

"W-What?!" Rika was dumbfounded. At first she was mad about being lied to then curious as to why he would have got it.

"I don't want to upset you and I didn't think you would ever find out. You just, I don't know, looked so sad that day at the shopping center." He was scrambling to say just about anything he could in defense. Rika didn't say a word and suprised Ryoutarou by going over to the couch and sitting by his legs. He started to blush a bit as it was the closest she had ever been to him.

"I'm sorry it got ruined, I'll pay you back for it." She looked like she was about to cry. Even though it was really painful to him he sat up and told her it was no big deal.

"Why does everyone hate me?" Rika asked ignoring his attempt to comfort her. The question kind of threw him off since he was still on about the dress ordeal.

"No one hates you." He replied hastily. She started tearing up.

"Yes they do!" She pulled up her feet on the couch and burried her face in her knees. "I hold everything in for so long, years! And when I finally let it out, it makes everyone hate me." She continued. He didn't have a real grasp on what she ment but figured it still helped being there as a source to vent at.

"Well, its better to let out your true feelings and be hated then to hold it in to be liked by people." He looked at Rika and tried to give her a warm smile. "Whats the proverb, love yourself first or something like that." He added trying to help. She just continued sobbing in a ball next to him.

"Why does she get everything!" Rika yelled into her knees and violently clawed at her legs. "Loving parents, all the friends, Kazuto, Why?!" She continued cursing. Since the incident in the alley she has kept composure for the most part. Something about being alone with Ryoutarou gave her comfort enough to just let all her feelings out. It was probably because he was the most 'outside' person she knew and could trust not to say anything.

"How do you do it?" She asked. Ryoutarou was just confused at the vague question.

"I mean with being Kazuto's friend. He always has one up on you and you still stay friends. With Asuna I just got tired of it." After she made clarifications he answered with a shrug. This irritated her a little, but a part of her felt a lot better just being able to talk about things openly.

"The best way to start hating yourself is to compare yourself to others. Yeah, Kazuto is better at a lot of things but I just look at it as I have a really talented friend who I can go to if I need anything." Ryoutarou said as he tried standing up but ending up falling back on the couch. "Gah, stupid body. Acts like it got stabbed or something." Rika giggled when he said this.

"It's your first day out of the hospital, you should just rest, what did you need?" Rika asked standing up.

"Was trying to get up and grab the best cheer up movie of all time." He said. She just looked at him confused as she wiped the tears from her face. "Over on the side of the tv is seven samurai. Can you put it in for me?" His request was a bit odd. Everyone knew that old classic but it confused her as to why it would be a cheer up movie. Regardless she felt obligated to help him out since Amami left him in her hands. When she put it in and handed him the remote he turned off the volume.

"Why are you muting it?" She asked. He grinned and fast forwarded to the first village scene.

"Watch me trot my horse in circles." Ryoutarou said lip syncing with the character in a goofy high pitch voice. "Oh, so impressive!" He said in a different tone as the other bandit spoke. Rika let out a snort as she tried not to laugh. This made him smile and he kept doing it. They watched a good part of the show making up dialogue. A little ways in Rika even started to do it when a female character spoke. This lasted till Amami returned from the store. She smiled walking in seeing the two talking in funny tones and laughing together.

"Oh, hey sis.a, want to join us?" Ryoutarou asked as he laughed.

"I need to get dinner going. Hey Rika, can you help me cook?" Amami asked.

Rika, now in a happy mood hopped off the couch and heartily agreed.

"Do you cook a lot?" Amami asked as she set out all the ingredients and grabbed various cookware.

"I sorta can, mostly I'm a frugal chef at home." She replied counting back to all the times she has made gyoza from left overs in the fridge.

"They say the best chefs cook that way. It's easy to make tasty food out of tasty stuff. The real challenge is making tasty stuff out of bland things." Amami replied.

The two cooked together for about an hour or so while talking about various things. Amami discussed life as a traveling artist and how amazing it is experiencing other cultures and how universal art is as a language. Rika felt like Amami's life experiences dwarfed anything she talked about. While the stories are epic, telling her they happened in a video game took the wind out of the sails.

"Ah, the virtual world. I think its fantastic how much your generation embraces it. Not many people get the same luxury I have to travel a lot. So being able to be anything and do anything online must make a lot of people happy." Amami said to show Rika that gaming experiences are nothing to be ashamed of. The two talked all the way till dinner was finished and plated. Rika and Amami helped Ryoutarou sit down at the kotatsu with them.

"Wow this looks amazing!" He exclaimed shoveling food in his mouth. Moments later his face contorted and he gestured to spit it out but held it back.

"Thats what you get for shoveling hot food into your mouth." Amami said shaking her head. Rika just giggled at the two. She thought about how much they acted like young siblings even though they are practically adults. The three talked as they ate and long after they finished.

"You probably have to leave soon." Amami said to Rika. "Your father is probably worried." She continued.

"You're probably right." Rika replied and gave a disheartening look. She had almost forgot about being back home and how late it had gotten. It wasn't in her interest to let such a good day end with her father's abusive behavior. No matter how much she detested the idea, it would be worse to stay away even longer so Ryoutarou said good bye to her and offered for her to come by anytime and Amami gave her a ride home. Once the two got in the car and they were alone, Amami's normal carefree happy look faded.

"Rika, can I ask a favor of you?" She said as they started to drive away.

"Of course!" She replied with a carefee smile.

Amami stayed silent for a moment then spoke.

"I have to leave tomorrow morning, my exhibit in Taipei opens soon and I need to be there." As she said this Rika's mood almost immediately flipped. After the wonderful night she had, Amami felt like a best friend to her and the thought of going to another country was disheartening. "I wanted to ask if you will take care of my brother and keep him out of trouble." Amami reached in her bag and pulled out a key. "This is to his appartment, in case something happens and you can't get ahold of him or he doesn't answer the door." As she kept talking Rika was started to feel overwhelmed by the request. She had a cat once but as far as taking care of a living thing it wasn't exactly her Forte.

"I'm ummm, not sure if I can do it." Rika replied twiddling the key in her hand. Amami looked at her and could clearly see it was lack of confidence that was stopping her.

"You don't have to but my father will probably end up stabbing him in a different spot of he has to take the train down again to help him." Amami said clearly showing that sarcasm was how the Tsuboi family tip toed around serious conversations. Rika changed facial expression a few times, clearly having an inner argument and then agreed to help.

"Thank you so much! The exhibit will be over in a few weeks then I'll come back." Once they pulled up to the house Amami gave her a big hug.

"oh, almost forgot." Amami said reaching into her bag again. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it over. Puzzled, Rika grabbed it and infolded it to reveal its content. It was a pencil sketch of a woman wearing a wrinkled yukata. At about the mid point on the body the clothing spred out and eventually turned into water at the bottom. Rika studied it and it showed that she had no clue what to make of it.

"I have sketch books full of stuff I've yet to paint and this one I did, particularly, reminds me of you." Amami's clarification didn't help much on what it represented but Rika thanked her anyways and put it in her pocket.

"Thank you Amami." Rika said genuinely as she got out of the car.

"For what? In exchange for a pencil sketch and some food you have to watch over a man baby for 2 weeks. Trust me, I should only be thanking you sweety." Amami clearly didn't understand the emotional impact that night had on her. It had been so long since she felt comfortable around people. Not holding back anything or hiding things. She liked hanging out with Asuna but Amami had a quality that matched a loving mother and a good friend. That was something she really strived to have in her life.

"It's the least I can do if you promise to be my friend." Rika replied blushing a little. Amami giggled and got out to give her one more hug before she went inside.

The next day after school Rika went over to Ryoutarou's place and grabbed a few groceries on the way. She was a little nervous because Amami wouldn't be there this time. Still, she felt obligated to help per her request. As she walked up the stairs Ouno was locking her door about to leave.

"Oh if it isn't cute girl number three." Ouno said giving a welcoming smile.

"number 3?" Rika said confused. The old lady chuckled.

"So many girls have been at his place I'm just going to start numbering you all." After saying this she walked down stairs giggling. Rika was thinking this lady has too much time on her hands. After shrugging off the comment she knocked on the door and waited a long time before Ryoutarou answered. He was stumbling by the doorway and only had one crutch.

"Sorry, ah man, lost my other crutch and it hurts like a bitch standing up. Hospital was right, these painkillers dont hold a candle to the I.V. stuff." He said frantically searching around for the other crutch.

"Next time I'll just use the key your sister gave me. Saves you from standing up and me waiting outside with your jealous neighbor." Rika said setting the groceries down in the kitchen. As she set them on the table in the corner of her eye she saw the other crutch against the stove. Shaking her head she brought it to him.

"Ha, thanks." he said grabbing the other one from her.

"How do you lose something you need to walk, and why just one, and in the kitchen of all places?" She asked genuinely confused as to how his brain worked. He nervously laughed and shrugged off the questions then sat back on the couch. He grabbed a handfull of painkillers but as he was about to shove them in his mouth Rika stopped him.

"First off, way to many. Second, you need to eat before you take those." She grabbed the pills from his hand and confiscated the bottle.

"Ah man, I figured you would be the cool one since my sister was the stickler." He whined. Rika shook her head and remembered how important this is to Amami.

"You can have one after we eat." To this he replied 'yes mom' in a condescending tone. The two ate and talked a bit as they watched tv.

"So, can I ask you something personal?" Ryoutarou asked. His question came up abruptly to Rika and made her blush thinking about what kind of personal question the infamous Klein would ask. While reluctant, she agreed to answer but on the condition it be nothing lewd.

"N-Nothing like that!" He said in embarrassment. "I was just wondering, why do you always play a tank online?" When he asked Rika was stumped. She took account of all the games they play together and tanking was generally her role in the group.

"Umm, well tank gear is expensive and since im a blacksmith I can make my own." She answered not even sure if that was the true reason. In reality, she really didn't know why she was a tank. It just kinda became her role and everyone kinda expected her to be one.

"I think its because you are selfish." He said. Rika just looked at him confused and a bit irritated.

"Being a tank in any MMO is stressful and usually not very rewarding. Everyone always blames the tank if things go wrong but at the same time every group needs one. You like being a tank because you are afraid people wont group with you if you're not playing an important role." He continued. Rika pondered his words for a minute then put on the classic tsundere act denying his accusation.

"Also being a blacksmith just reinforces my theory because you spend hours in game gathering rare ores and gems to craft armor and weapons for your friends." He said ignoring her retorts.

"Thats not true!" Rika stood up and puffed out her chest. She looked more adorable to Ryoutarou then threatening. "I craft myself gear too, and im really good at tanking so I stick with it." She said in a poor defence. Truth was as he said those things it made her realise just how much time she did spend online taking on hard jobs and roles to appease her friends. She could tell he wasn't buying it so she fired a personal question right back at him.

"Why do you always hit on everyone, even though you are like thirty?"

Ryoutarou grimaced.

"T-thirty! The beard doesn't make me look that old, and I do it because all of you are cute." He threw his hands in the air. "Sorry, for being a guy and for complementing your looks!" He said in irritation. Rika stormed off with there empty plates and came back with one of his pain pills.

"Take this and no more questions." She said slapping the pill in his open palm. After he took it she walked to the door and started opening it.

"Do you have to leave?" He asked sadly. Rika was kinda suprised by his question seeing they just butt heads a moment ago.

"I need to get going before it gets too late." She let him down gently since he seemed sad at her departure. But after she said this he smiled and thanked her for the help with cooking.

"To your one question the other day." Ryoutarou's smile went away and he looked at Rika's feet. It showed all over his face that whatever he was about to say was embarrassing to him enough to not make eye contact. "It does make me mad sometimes, Kazuto I mean. I do get jealous and envious of him to a point that it pisses me off once and a while." He struggled a bit saying this but thats how Rika knew it was true. She could tell he wasn't just agreeing with her feelings the other day to make her happy knowing someone else shared the same emotions. "But the first thing I told you is true also. He is a great friend to go to about things or if you need help." He continued. Rika was now just confused and asked him what point he was trying to make.

"Basically, I'm saying that good friends you like and never show or share negative feelings, but best friends you love and get pissed off at but still stand by them." When his thought finished she realized what he was saying.

"So, I should tell them my true feelings?" She answered but in a way that wanted conformation.

"Not exactly, I'm saying you try so hard to appease everyone in game and always hide your true feelings from them. Eventually all this build up will lead you to hate your friends and hurt them even if its not intentionally. Don't hold everything back and let it out at once in one big implosion. If something bugs you, tell them. I always tell Kazuto how jealous I am of him. It doesn't exactly fix things that put a gap between us but it let's us have a better understanding of one another." Ryoutarou said. Listening to him say all this made her realize he wasn't just a perverted jock that hung around Kazuto to ogle the girls. She looked at the door and then looked back at him. After a moment of hesitation she walked back over and sat on the couch next to him.

"I'll text my dad and tell him club ran late tonight." She said pulling out her phone.

Ryoutarou pumped his arm in excitment and it made him contort in pain as it stretched the area of his stab wound. Rika just shook her head and scalded him like Amami would.

"Since you are hanging around, are you ready to watch the greatest movie of all time!" He said digging around the dvd rack by the side of the couch.

"Are we lip syncing to another old movie, because I dont have three hours." She replied recalling the seven samurai. He turned his head and looked at her with a suggestive grin then pulled out a dvd and held it above his head like a bible that radiated light.

"Behold, Negative happy chainsaw edge!" His voices boomed and the tone suggested he was a profit bequeathing a life changing Relic to her.

"Negative what?" She said in confusion. Between the cheesy box art and the terrible title Rika was convinced it was a bad movie and her face showed it.

"Negative Happy chainsaw edge, don't judge it by the cover...Or the name, it really is great, in that B class horror comedy kinda way." He said trying to credit an obviously terrible flick. Reluctant She agreed to watch it and as they did she actually enjoyed it they both laughed together and about half way into the movie she realized moments like this made her happy. Something as simple as watching a bad movie with a friend. At home she constantly had to tip toe around her father when they interacted. With Asuna and Kazuto, she always had to hide away feelings. but Ryoutarou was just a simple friend through and through. For the first time in a long while Rika felt at peace.

The next few days she had the same routine, school and then it was off to Ryoutarou's. She enjoyed her time there so much, she was in ecstatic anticipation to go over and hang out. Her phone was starting to blow up with messages from Asada but she continued to ignore them. Asada even tried cornering her at the engineering club building but Rika had been ditching it to see Ryoutarou sooner. Plus she needed that club time as an excuse to her dad for visiting him after school. One thing that did bother her still was Kazuto and Asuna, they still had not replied to her messages of apology. They didn't know about the alley incident but the dance was probably still fresh on their minds. Whenever she ran into them at school they both avoided her.

It will be awhile before things mend and in the mean time Rika thought about what she wanted to say to Asuna and how to even be able to speak to Kazuto again. All these thoughts just got pushed to the back of her mind for now as Amami's request to take care of her brother came first. Once she came back, Rika would ask her for advice on what to do about the situation. She figured since Amami was a older, smart, and creative individual She could help her articulate a proper apology.

"I'm back!" Rika cried out as she entered Ryoutarou's apartment. At this point she just started letting herslef in without knocking. He waved at her while still looking at the tv. She walked into the kitchen and started putting away a few bags of groceries. "I got a couple ramune's as a treat since you have been feeling better." Rika smiled and showed them off to him. He just frowned at the sight of a sugary kid's drink.

"I wish you were old enough to buy beer." He groaned slumping farther into the couch. She puffed her cheeks and flicked the back of his ear.

"Even if I was old enough to buy it, I wouldn't. Its on Amami's list of things you can't have." She said and returned to the kitchen. Ryoutarou tried to give a rebuttle but when he turned around rubbing his sore ear he saw she was already preping away with dinner. He didn't have the energy to get up and tell her off so he just fell back in the couch and watched tv till she brought out food. It was always something delicious, he always ate instant food or take out. When his sister and in this case Rika came along it was a treat to have home cooked food. She sat down next to him on the couch as they ate. When he turned to thank her it didn't take long for him to notice Rika had a large bruise on her arm, about at the top of her bicep. It looked painful and as he stared at it, Rika noticed his gaze and ahe quickly covered it up with her hand.

"Are you ok?" Ryoutarou asked.

She didn't want to talk about how a stupid fight over groceries lead to her father punching her arm.

"Oh this, yeah, I was being clumsy." She lied.

Ryoutarou srugged and continued eating. He knew it had something to do with her home life but felt it would be best not to pry. After they ate she did the usual routine of cleaning up and giving him the correct dose of pain killers. This time though Amami had something on her instructions that needed to be done once a few days had past. She really didn't want too but felt it was her mission to Amami so Rika walked up to him with a beet red face.

"Umm, we need to change your bandage." She said holding gauze, scissors, and various other things for cleaning the wound. Ryoutarou Returned her flush face with his own and scratched the back of his head.

"It's ok, I can take care of that myself haha, not totally useless." He replied trying to avoid an awkward situation. Rika took a deep breath and gained some composer.

"Your sister asked me to help with it, the cut is at a odd angle, there is no way you can clean it properly." She said with resolve trying to end the argument quickly so she can get the job done quicker. He wanted to come up with an excuse but nothing came to mind so his silence was her answer to go ahead. He struggled, but managed to take off his shirt. He tried taking of the bandages but she was right, everything was at a angle that hurt his cut when he tried to stretch around and grab the bandages. Rika, with shaking hands, started unwrapping the bandages from around his stomach. It took quite a few times going around but she finally unfolded the last part. The gauze pads were soaked through completely with blood, luckily she had on a glove and was able to remove them keeping things sanitary. Seeing the stab spot the blood and stitches made her feel terrible for what happened to him. It looked so painful and she couldn't help but still feel like this was her fault. As she cleaned it and rebandaged him back up Ryoutarou looked off in various directions making awkward small talk.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you." Rika said as she finished cutting the last length of rolled bandage.

"Hey, we had this conversation at the hospital." Ryoutarou smiled. "Don't worry about it." As he said this Rika was finished with everything and she did a once over on him to make sure everything looked in place. as she did this red started to pervaid her cheeks as she looked at the rest of his shirtless body.

"Umm, you ok?" He asked as she zoned out looking at him.

She snapped out of it and shook her head.

"Oh, yeah, haha just wanted to make sure everything was right." she said tripping on her words. She stood up flustered and quickly put away the supplies and made her way for the door.

"umm, see you tomorrow, ok bye." She spewed out then left abruptly. As she rushed out the apartment building and made way to the bus she started to blush uncontrollably. 'It's Klein! Why him? He is a total idiot!' She thought on the ride home. 'Have I hit a new low in standards' She shook off the thoughts of his shirtless body but somehow they managed to continue resurfacing every few minutes. Her internal struggle ended as she got home and opened to found her father standing right on the inside. He looked furious and drunk.


	5. part 5

The next day...

"Yes, I'm taking my medicine. Yes, I'm eating fine! Yes, yes, yes, yes." Ryoutarou rubbed his forehead in aggravation. He was on the phone with Amami being barraged with questions. Her intentions are well but four calls a day can test anyones patience.

"Oh yes, Rika is helping a lot. N-no, She is still in high school!" He replied in embarrassment. With most of her calls she inquiries about Rika and to poke fun, ask about their 'dating status'. She would always get a rouse out of it at Ryoutarou's expense.

"I have to go, call on the other line. Love you, bye." He hung up before she could say anything. Breathing out a long sigh he was startled when the phone rang again. This time it was his work calling.

his boss was on the line and had little patience for Ryoutarou's leave of absence. The company he worked for was private so even a doctor's note didn't give him immunity to being fired or having someone take his spot. The call was to inform him that indeed his position had been taken by someone else. It was hard to take in. First his father would be furious since he got him that job. Plus, how was he going to afford the medical bills and rent. The bomb shell of this left him angry and in a bit of denial. "You can't fire me for something I have no control over!" He tried to argue in a fit of rage. His now former boss just scoffed and went into the technical details of his 'Accident'. According to the companies lawyer they don't have to hold his job if the injuries sustained are 'non accidental'. According to the police report, he optionally engaged the men in the alley instead of alerting the proper authorities. Even though non of this situation was just, he had no legal grounds to sue or keep his job. The man snidely tried to go into further detail but Ryoutarou was sick of his voice and hung up.

"So this is the result being a good Samaritan." He said clasping both hands on his face. Shortly after, he slammed a fist on the kotatsu causing a drink to spill that was on it. He stood up in an adrenaline fueled rage and took one of the crutches and started slamming it into anything within reach. Breaking a lamp, knocking off a poster and even hitting his sisters painting. It didn't last long when he cried out in pain. Looking down there was liberal amounts of blood seeping through the bandages. He ploped back down on the couch and took deep breaths to regain composer. Stairing up at the ceiling, mind blank, holding the bleeding wound, he started to cry.

A knock came on the door and after a moment of Ryoutarou not saying a thing or moving due to his emotional state the latch turned and the person let themselve in.

"Hello, Ryoutarou." Rika said with a chime and smile. She waltzed in with her usual bags of groceries. Immediately, she noticed the mess and asked what happened. He just shrugged and didn't say anything. She figured he was just clumsy and didn't want to admit it.

"Hey Rika, I don't think today is a good day to come over." He said in a monotone.

"Hmm, whats that?" She asked caught up in cleaning the mess he had made earlier. Ryoutarou turned and looked at her but before repeating himself he noticed by the doorway there was a backpack and asked about it first.

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask if I can stay the night." She said casually as if it wasn't a big deal. This snapped him out of his funk and try to stand up.

"Wait, what?!" He asked but fell back on the couch in pain. She rushed over and could see the large blood stain on his side.

"You're bleeding really bad, why didn't you tell me?!" She rushed to grab the first aid supplies then started to take off the bloodied bandages. As she cleaned up the wound and repatch it he figured it was a good time to ask again about her staying over.

"Well, I was just worried about you and figured it would be best to stick around longer then usual. Now looking at this, I have good reason to." She said dabbing a cloth at his bloody side.

A part of him didn't buy it. There had to be an alternate agenda or something else but the company did sound nice. Maybe having her around more would keep his mind off of the news of losing his job and focus on getting better. The other part of his mind got the better though and he knew no parent in there right mind would let their daughter stay at a guys house.

"I'm sure your parents would mind." He argued.

"It's just my dad and he said it was ok." She lied. The sound of it being just a father didn't help her argument to stay. It just made Ryoutarou panic that much more.

"Your dad?!" He started to freak out. "Oh man, thats even worse. You really shouldn't stay more then you normally do." He said concerned. He pictured a raging mad father figure kicking down the door and beating him half to death. This thought made him gulp and sweat beads. Rika noticed this and giggled.

"Kinda cute when you are flustered, he knows I'm here so don't worry about it." She replied in a soothing tone still lying.

It still didn't sit right with him but figured it's best not to argue. Especially with her. She can be a force as scary as any protective father when her stubborn side starts to surface.

"Fine, fine, but just make sure to put on my tomb stone 'Told you so' when he kills me, ok?"

Rika finished wrapping the bandages and gave him a few more words of reassurance before going back to cleaning up. Afterwords she made dinner and the two ate while watching another B movie crap fest. Once night came Ryoutarou grabbed extra blankets and a pillow then set them on the couch for her.

"So, I guess I'll see you in the morning." He said a bit tense still uneasy about the whole thing. Rika nodded and started pulling things out of her pack. "I only have one bathroom and it's in my room. You can change real quick before I go to bed." He added looking at her pulling out pajamas.

"It's ok, you go to bed. I'll just change out here." She smiled then glared at him. "You better not think about peeking." Her words came out cold and clear. He blushed and looked off to the side.

"N-no, I would never!"

Rika changed expression and looked as if she was about to cry. "So i'm not pretty enough to peep on." Clearly she was toying with him and he knew it.

"Goodnight!" He said exasperated and closed the door to his room. She giggled to herself before getting changed.

Now that Ryoutarou was alone in bed, work started to pervaid his mind again. Nothing is more terrifying then being an adult on your own and having no income. He thought about how much his dad would tear into him if he asked for money. Then thought about asking Amami, she would gladly help out but it would be a huge hit to his pride. If all this wasn't enough to keep him awake the stinging pain of the injury was the cherry on top. letting out a sigh and rubbing his face a small knock brough him to attention. He figured maybe Rika wanted to ask something or needed the bathroom so he told her it was ok to come in.

She opened the door slowly and with soft foot steps made way to the bedside. The room was dark so he could only make out her silhouette at first. As she got closer the moonlight from the window illuminated her features. She was wearing a risque pink top that revealed a generous amount of cleavage and panties that matched. Her face was red and she stood silent by the bedside for a moment before speaking.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asked trying to sound seductive. It showed she was very nervous and inexperienced with this by the way she stood and spoke. Ryoutarou was speechless. He tried to say anything but gasp of air is all that managed to make its way out. She seemed impatient waiting on his answer so she just crawled in bed anyways.

"Th-...We shouldn't be-" He continued to ring off gibberish as she cuddled up to him. Her body felt warm and all his mind started to go blank. Rika crawled on top of him and started kissing his neck. He wanted to protest but the feeling was too good so he held a hand on her cheek and kissed back. She moved a hand up and down his chest on the exposed parts the bandages didn't touch and he ran both of his up and down her back. "I'm sorry." Rika said as she broke off the kiss. Ryoutarou just shook his head and pulled her in for another one. He struggled a bit and it hurt the wound but he managed to roll her over so he was on top. The ecstasy of this moment blocked out the pain. They continued to make out and he took off her bra. Breaking of the kissing he looked her up and down before continuing.

"Wha-what is it?" She asked trying to cover her exposed chest while blushing. He was even more turned on by how she tried to cover herself but everything 'essential' still showed through her thin arms.

"Sorry, just admiring the view." He replied with a grin. He kissed down her chest and past her bellybutton. Once low enough he grabbed at each side of her panties.

"I'm sorry if I'm not very good at this." She said looking down at him. "It's my first time." After saying this it hit Ryoutarou. He stopped everything and came back up till he was face to face with her.

"You're a virgin?" He asked. She nodded in a way that told him she was ashamed of that. His body wanted to continue but everything else said no. She noticed he was now frowning and had a wave of regret painted on his face.

"What's wrong, don't let that stop things. I'm ready, I promise." She said guessing what was on his mind. Ryoutarou sat up and moved to the end of the bed so his back was to her.

"Rika, you are so beautiful but i'm not in an good place right now. I would feel awful taking away something like that from you just to forget my problems for a moment." He said too ashamed to look at her. She sat up on her knees and scooted to his back and leaned a cheek against it.

"Please, please let me do this." She begged and started crying. "Even you turn me down, I really am trash." She continued as the tears ran down her face. Ryoutarou turned and held her cheek.

"No, don't think that, you're amazing Rika." He wiped her face and noticed her left eye started to show a dark circle as globs of makeup started running down from the tears. He strained his eyes and with a thumb, rubbed below the eye removing more makup and exposing a large bruise. She could tell he saw it so she shied away.

"You have on on your arm I noticed it the other day, whats going on?" He asked. Ryoutarou was concerned about her and was getting tired of being left in the dark from this.

"I don't want to talk about it." She replied continuing to look away in shame.

"Rika, is your dad doing this?" He reached out a hand to her face but she smacked it away. "It's not normal, he can't do that to you." He said. It was obvious she wasn't going to say it and he already had a pretty good idea who was behind this.

"He is just having a hard time after mom passed away." She said defending her fathers actions. At first he was speechless at the news of her mother. Amami knew but never told him, she felt it inappropriate to go around telling others something so personal. She figured Rika would tell him when the time was right.

"I'm sorry about your mom but still, you lost her too and I don't see you smacking anyone around." He felt bad but was still frustrated that she would defend a child abuser. Rika just laughed hysterically.

"I'm worse, I tried to ruin my best friends relationship." Rika started clawing at her legs in frustration. "I just used Asada to complain about my best friend and on top of that I almost got you killed." She started crying again and pounded her fist of the bed. "I'm an awful person, at first I was mad when he struck me but now it makes me feel a little better about myself when he does." She explained but Ryoutarou just looked confused and tried to stop her from anymore self infliction.

"How does being hit make you feel better, thats nonsense?!" He said getting ahold of her arms. She struggled and thrashed around a bit but went limp after the short outburst.

"I deserve to be hit, i'm just using you in the same way. To forget about things." She fell into his chest. Her face felt warm and the tears cold against him. Trying to think of what to say he just came up blank and remained silent, holding her close. It kind of suprised him that she had such a similar motive.

"The other day you told me everything I do is to please people. I tried being just a little selfish and its only ended in disaster. After that I realized it's a sign, i'm not ment to be happy. I'm ment to just make others happy." Her voice was so low and the words came out in struggling pain. They stung Ryoutarou's heart and made him start to tear up. He didn't think a pretty highschool girl would have so many problems.

"You know my whole life I've always been nothing compared to my sister. Since as long as I could remember she was better then me, had everything going for her. Mom and dad gave her more attention. She always got better grades and went on to be a huge success in life." He grabbed the crutches by the bedside and stood up. "A part of me hates her but at the same time she means a lot to me. She never yells at me or tells me im a failure. She is always there for me and would do anything to help. Genuinely she is an amazing person but I still cant stop a part of me from hating her." As he said this Rika put back on the bra and the two made way to the kitchen where Ryoutarou started making tea. Rika thought about his words and his relationship with Amami sounded alot like hers with Asuna.

"I guess we are both just ugly people then." Rika said looking out the window by the sink. "I always watch movies and play games with people that are like this and its so painfully clear. How did I not notice I was this way till things fell apart?" She continued, feeling pathetic.

"The real world isn't so black and white. Her and I will always be, in a way, best friends but being in her shadow my whole life doesn't go away. Some hatches you can't burry." He said pooring two cups of tea. They sat at the kotatsu and sipped it in silence for awhile.

"If you can't burry it, then what do you do?" Rika asked desperately wanting to have an answer that could solve the mess she was in.

"Thats the shitty part, I don't think there is an answer. But blaming yourself and harboring your true feelings is just as bad. If not it's worse." His response frustrated her. It made her think that maybe there is really no way to fix or mend things.

"But I can say this, i've done what you are trying to do and it doesn't help. Being a punching bag and attaching yourself to anyone that shows any kind of affection only ends in disaster." He put a hand on the top of her head and smiled. "You are young and I would hate to see you follow my footsteps."

The two shared silence once more and continued to sip tea. Maybe it was the open air between them or the emotional night they're having but Ryoutarou decided to ask about a sensitive subject.

"It's probably a bad time to ask but, what happened to your mom?" He asked out of curiosity but mostly to try and emotionally understand Rika better. She was reluctant but still told him the tragic story of the building accident.

"That explains a lot." He said finishing the last of his tea.

"Explains what?" She asked confused.

"Can I say something that may be a bit out of bounds?" He asked refilling both of their cups. Rika felt that he wouldn't say anything too rash and was at a point that not much was secret between them so she gave him the ok.

"I don't think your mom went out there to show how much she loved your dad."

"hmm?" Rika mumbled mid sip and lifted a brow.

"I think she was crying out for his attention. She wanted him to show his love by stopping her and was willing to put herself at risk doing so." He said this with confidence. He could see Rika was a lot like how her mom sounded. A very intelligent person that was a fool for love. "I think that was her real intention and if you don't act a little selfish now and then the same could happen to you." He finished his thought and nervously awaited her reaction. She thought for a minute about what he said and a part of her agreed but most of her was against it. It didn't take long for her mind to take to rage. She stood up abruptly and quickly got her cloths on.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ryoutarou asked.

"You're right, you did go out of bounds." She replied tugging violently at her cloths as she put them on.

"I'm sor-" Before he could finish she turned around and glaired at him.

"You don't know a damn thing! How dare you tell me what my mom was actually doing! How dare you tell me i'm going to end up like her as if it's a bad thing! You know nothing about who she was!" Rika gritted her teeth and held her eyes shut tight. "This was a mistake, coming here was a mistake." She yelled and clamored around the appartment collecting all her various things left over the course of her visits and hastily moved to the door. Ryoutarou was so flustered at her anger he couldn't muster up anything to say. She opened the door and turned around looking at him with watering eyes.

"I shouldn't come here anymore. I'm sorry this happened to you but I cant-" She couldn't even finish her thought before rushing out and down the stairs. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts. No one likes being shown their true colors and maybe it was the fact that his words hit the mark so well it made her question just about everything in her life. She felt bad for letting Amami down on the promise to take care of him but just chalked it up to another person she let down.

'I'm a nothing that is only good at giving and not receiving. Why did I even think for one moment I should do otherwise' circled over and over in her mind. She sat on the bench at the bus station crying alone under the light not even knowing if one was running this late. After a few minutes a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked to the side and saw it was Ryoutarou. He didn't look at her just shared the dark view in front of them.

"Rika, I can't pretend to know it all or what you are going through entirely but, I truly want you to believe that it's not bad to want happiness for yourself." He said taking a seat next to her. "I've spent my whole life giving and look what it's got me. My girlfriend cheated on me, I had a crappy dead end job and online get treated like a joke. Don't end up like me Rika, Grow up with pride and do great things." He turned his head and smiled at her. "Otherwise the highlight of your day will be a perverted old neighbor hitting on you." To this Rika chuckled a bit. But went right back to her same mopey expression.

"Can I come back inside?" She asked with a soft voice. The question suprised him but made him happy non the less.

"I'm glad you said that because otherwise I didn't know how I was going to get back up the stairs." They both shared a giggle at his comment and made way back to the appartment. Inside, they sat on the couch for awhile talking about things like the future. She told him about her prosthetic engineering interest and he gave a sarcastic answer about becoming the ultimate warrior. The two laughed and stayed up till the sun peaked over the buildings.

"We really should get some sleep." Ryoutarou said half lucid. Rika agreed but before he went back to the bedroom she grabbed his shirt and gave him a long gentle kiss.

"Kissing is ok, right?" She asked after the fact.

"I think so." He replied with flush cheeks. After that the two seperated and went to sleep.


	6. part 6

Rika didn't sleep well, thoughts of just about everything ran through her mind. What was she doing falling for Ryoutarou. Was it because they related so much on being in greater peoples shadow? Maybe it was the fact that these similarities made it easier for them to converse. Either way it didn't sit right with why she basically threw herself at him. The other part of her mind was about her mother. Would she have really done something so risky just for attention? Her resolve on the matter was now in tatters from the seed he planted in her mind. Rika thought about the risk she took trying to get Kazuto's affection. The thought of losing Asuna as a friend didn't even cross her mind back then. Maybe Ryoutarou was right about her and how holding everything in can be destructive at some point. If her mother really did feel that way the similarities between them was uncanny.

Not being able to sleep anymore she got up and put a ear to the bedroom. Snoring could be heard so she quietly got ready and left. Outside the building was Asada, Rika had messaged her once she woke up asking to meet up. It was primarily to start making amends for things but also to take her mind off of uncertainties she faced. the moment they made eye contact Asada immediately ran up and hugged her.

"I've been so worried, it's been days!" She said mid hug. Looking back behind Rika's shoulder she could see the backpack wasn't zipped up all the way and caught a glimps of the pink lingerie. "Umm, I won't question what's in your pack. But, what the hell is in your pack?" She asked looking ashamed of Rika.

"You said you wouldn't ask!" She yelled swinging the backpack around quickly zipping it up. To avoid the subject any further Rika pointed at a coffee shop across the street and asked if they could sit and talk there.

"He got stabbed?!" Asada almost spilled her tea at the news.

"His sister left and now i'm taking care of him." They continued to catch up for most of the afternoon. Rika would talk about Amami and how kind she was and Asada talked about how everyone was doing and how things are going in the game.

"It's strange, Asuna has been acting cautious around everyone. The other day I asked Kazuto to help me on a quest and she insisted on joining, even though it was only for two people. She spent half the day just following us on the quest and got no XP or items for it." She said this hoping that Rika would maybe have an idea as to why she was acting so funny.

"That's because of me. I may have told her I slept with him." As she said this Asada spit out her tea and choked a little.

"Y-you what?!" Rika gave a half baked fake laugh to her response and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Confessing your feelings to Kazuto is one thing but telling his girlfriend you slept with him is another." Asada said still coughing from the tea.

"I know, I know. It was incredibly stupid and I promise to make up for it. To start, I want to apologize to you." Rika said out of the blue. Asada just asked why in confusion.

"I used you. I just vented at you and dragged you around finding my dress and getting you caught up in my drama. I just wanted to say sorry for that." Rika set her coffee cup down and ran a finger across the lid.

"Isn't that what friends are for? You are supposed to use each other once and awhile. Otherwise, whats the point of having them?" Her reply helped ease Rika's guilt but the idea of using friends still sounded wrong. She knew Asada was for the most part an easy going person so it was easy to make up with her.

"Now the hard part is figuring out how to fix things with Asuna." This was the true obstacle at the moment. What she did to her best friend was on a whole other level from Asada. No matter what she thought of to say it was clear things would probably never be the same again between them. She thought about meeting her in game to try and talk but that would mean going home. At the moment she was running away from home. No one knew this, even Ryoutarou didn't. She figured if anyone knew, it would put people in a panic and create more unnecessary drama.

"Yeah, that will be a task and a half. I can act like a middle man if you want." Asada offered. She didn't show it much because of her usual calm exterior but inside she wanted very much for everything to return to somewhat normalcy.

"I've already used you Shino, I can't do that again. This is my problem and I need to fix it." Rika said. The conundrum left the two silent for the rest of the time spent at the coffee shop. Even while silent and lost in thought they both came up short on solutions. Asada had to get ready to leave shortly after and told Rika to call or text her if she needed anything or if there was anyway she could help out.

"Your eye, what happened?" She asked while standing up. It had been bugging Asada almost the whole time they hung out. Rika just shied away her face and gave a half baked lie about falling. She didn't believe it.

"Whatever is actually going on with it, you don't deserve. I hope you know that." Once she voiced her concern, Asada left. Rika was just sitting alone now in a bit of embarrassment and shame for not just telling her.

She didn't dwell on it long though because Asuna took priority. Rika tried to call her but it immediately cancelled the call. Next she called Kazuto, to her suprise his did the same thing. She figured they both blocked her number.

It wasn't the greatest idea and just about every part of her was against it but being cornered made it one of the only solutions. She had to get ahold of Suguha. The thought of how their last conversation went down online made the idea of reaching out to her sound terrible. Rika was feeling guilty about using Asada to be a third party on the matter but also figured she wouldn't help much speaking on her behalf to Asuna. Maybe if she could get Kazuto's sister to talk to Asuna, it would have a better impact. With a gulp and a hesitant finger hovering the call button, she finally pushed it.

"Hello." The voice was high pitched and small. It matched Suguha perfectly. The moment Rika spoke she realized who it was and changed demeanor.

"Oh it's you. Sorry, not in the mood for any made up sex stories about my brother." She was cold but fair in saying this and Rika knew it.

"Please just don't hang up. I know our last conversation didn't go well an-"

"You have single handedly ruined our friendship. Not as in you and I, but the whole group! We all had such a special bond and now you broke it. Why, Why!?" Rika was cut off and it clearly showed Suguha had built up anger at her. She felt guilty and just took the punches if it ment fixing things.

"I was selfish and I really need to speak to Asuna. I want to apologize to her and your brother." Rika begged.

"Then call her, not me!" She almost hung up but Rika stopped her by pleading and explaining how they blocked her number. Suguha wanted nothing to do with her but she thought about how miserable her brother had been lately. Swallowing pride would be a small price to pay to see him happy again.

"I can't help much myself. They are both becoming very distant. Your best bet is to catch them online." She said reluctantly. Rika didn't like the idea of meeting online because she had ruled that out earlier on the count of not wanting to return home. The phone call ended shortly after that and it didn't help as much as she wanted. It just made her realize the events of that dance left more of an impact on everyone then she thought it would.

The idea of returning to Ryoutarou's place didn't sound great to her. The complex feelings she had at the moment made her want to keep distance but there was no where else to go. She originally wanted to talk things out with Asuna then go to her place. That way if her father went looking for her it wouldn't be so bad finding out she stayed at a girlfriends house. But clearly things wouldn't work that way so she would have to risk spending another night with him.

First she ran to the store before trailing back to the appartment. Luckily she managed to dodge Ouno, it was getting difficult handling her embarrassing remarks. Once inside she noticed he wasn't on the couch and the door to the bedroom was still closed. listening through the door a familier weezing snore was heard. She was kind of suprised he was still asleep but figured between staying up all night and blood loss from his wound, rest was good for him. Starting to make way for the kitchen she caught a glimps of Ryoutarou's Nervegear carelessly left on the floor beside the couch. Seeing this gave her an idea. Maybe if she used his system, she could get online and talk to Asuna. It felt wrong using someone elses stuff without permission but it was better then any alternative she could come up with. Grabbing the head set and laying on the couch, she logged in.

Akunotou: Shikageichi

Once the hud set up and she had full visual, a string of welcome text ran across the screen saying 'Welcome back, Klein!' It didn't even occur to her that it would auto loggin as Ryoutarou's avatar. Sure enough when she looked at her limbs and pulled up the character screen, she looked just like Klein. 'The login security of this game must be lenient' she thought.

For a few minutes Rika walked around town trying to get used to the body. A good amount of players staired her down seeing the character walk around as if he had a stroke. She was worried that someone would report the player for buying a leveled character or something. It wasn't uncommon for people to buy there way up ranks and be terrible late game players. Since Klein had fairly high level gear it would raise suspicion.

luckily her gaming savvy helped get used to things quick enough before too many heads turned. She sat down in a tavern and pulled up his friends list. It showed Kirito and Asuna online. This was a huge break. Now she had a solid chance to actually talk to them both face to face. Before she could PM Kirito it suprised her when he sent a message first.

From: Kirito

Hey Klein, glad to see you finally online! Meet me on the 61st floor. I left a teleport stone attached to this note so you can bypass some of the floors you haven't completed. I could really use help on this quest.

After reading the note she put the stone in Kleins inventory and replied back then walked to the town center where a large pillar stood. She inserted the stone in a cut out on one side and it gave a list of floors, much like elevator buttons. She clicked the 61st one and the stone broke then teleported her to the proper floor. Once assimilated it was only moments before Kazuto's voice could be heard.

"Yo, Klein! Over here!" Kirito waved his hands off a ways from the teleportation pillar. Rika immediately froze up. This was the first time she had talked to him after everything. The last time they met in person he yelled at her and was furious. Not even thinking about it till now she also didn't know how to explain why she was using Ryoutarou's character. Having all this hit her at once she, in a quick decision, pretended to be him.

"Oh, hey bro." She replied in as deep a tone as possible. It was her first time speaking so she didn't realize the game just made her voice sound like his. So by speaking in a deep tone it made Kleins voice awkwardly low. Rika was extremely nervous as they got closer to each other. She was overly trying to acting normal and Kirito immediately noticed.

"Are you ok?" He asked watching Klein fidget and take on a girlish stance.

"Pssh, yeah dude! Lets go kill stuff." She replied trying to imitate Ryoutarou's personality. Kirito squinted his eyes and looked him up and down before shrugging. He then went into details about the quest he was stuck on.

"I need a second person to distract a guard. A blind man stands in front of this temple entrance. When you move he chases you down at incredible speed. If you get touched by him, you teleport back here. Hints why im here." Kirito explained with a sigh at the end.

"So I just stomp around making noise to get his attention, then you sneak in?" She asked trying to clarify the plan. Kirito nodded.

"Argo gave me a tip, she said if I make it inside I can deactivate the guard with an item in there so you can make it inside too." He added trying not to sound like Klein was just fodder for his quest. Rika gave a thumbs up and tried to imitate Kleins big cheesy grin.

As they walked to the temple Rika couldn't help but wonder why Klein for such an easy task.

"Hey, this seems pretty easy and I noticed Asuna is online. Why didn't you ask her?" Rika asked out of curiosity but also because she wanted to see them both.

"Oh, she is back in town. I'm actually really glad you came online. Having another guy to quest with stopped her from breathing down my shoulders." He replied looking troubled.

"Breathing down your shoulders?" Rika repeated the line not understanding what he ment.

"Oh yeah, you have been in the dark about all the stuff going on, lucky you." As he said this Rika recalled that indeed Ryoutarou would have no knowledge of the situation. Plus since Kirito didn't know about her seeing him, he really would be behind on events.

"Haha, I try to stay drama free. Thats me!" She said cheesily in her poor Klein persona.

"I wish I could. Rika told me she loved me at the dance awhile back and since then Asuna has been falling apart." When he said this she recalled Suguha's phone call about the whole group straying. She didn't give much details on the matter so Rika figured Kirito would know more.

"Why is that?" She asked.

"She is just paranoid about everyone feeling the same way Rika felt. I thought we had made up a few days ago online but since then she wont leave my side for anything. I can't even hold a private conversation with my sister unless its at home offline." Kirito stopped at a tree stump that was carved into a bench on the side of the trail and sat down. Klein sat next to him with feet pigeon toed and knees touching.

"Umm, are you sure everythings ok?" Kirito asked looking at kleins very feminine sitting posture. Rika looked down and became alarmed. Her character always had a skirt so she was used to sitting this way by habbit. She frantically fixed it by leaning back and having her legs spred out with a hand scratching the groin area. This just made Kirito even more confused but he just laughed instead of question it further.

"You are a character Klein. No matter how down I am you can find some goofy way to cheer me up." Kiritos reply made Rika feel relieved.

"I'm sorry about Asuna but i'm sure things will heal. Just give it some time." She said trying to make him feel better. She wanted to believe those words too so it would make her feel less terrible for being the trigger that caused this mess.

"Maybe, but if things keep up like this...I don't know." He faultered at the end of his words. It showed that he was in just as much pain from the new tension thats been created around everyone. She was a bit shocked tthat he was hit so hard by it. It really did sound like a relationship no one thought could be broken may fall apart.

"Don't talk like that! Things will get better!" Rika tried her best to cheer him up but it didn't stick. The mood turned dark a bit before they got up and continued to the temple.

Once the trail led out the thick of the forest, it opened to a small Valley. Stationed about center of it was a large stone structure that resembled Old Goa in India. Some of its sidings and windows gave it differences between the actual one but it was very obvious the real one was a template. Standing out front was a old man in knights armor. He stood stationary with his sword drawn and sunk in the earth. His hands covered in gauntlets rested on the sword hilt. He made no motion or movement even when Klein and Kirito came fairly close however, after a few more steps the man opened his eyes. They looked milky white and he raised his chin like a bloodhound sniffing something out.

"I see more have come to seek access to this holy ground. I am Fernam, Last Templar of Tomar and the disciple of Christ to guard this sanctuary. I've stood here since the sixteenth century and will stay here sixteen more." After the old man made his NPC dialogue he tore the sword from the earth and looked straight at them as if he could see.

"Are you sure he is blind?" Rika asked in doubt for how easy the man noticed them.

"Thats what Argo said. If he lands one hit on you with that sword you teleport back to the spawn pillar. It's a real pain, but if you can distract him long enough without getting grazed i'll be able to get through the door." After Kirito laid out the plan he moved off to one side of the field far away from Rika. She got nervous, even if this was her character it sounded difficult to pull off.

Kirito gave her a nod that he was in position and with a gulp took a few steps forward. The man's eye's shot at her like daggers and he quickly made for her direction. His speed was unnatural for his old physique but thats how games are. Never underestimate an enemy, be it size, gender, personality, or in this case age.

Luckily she dodged the first strike. It was just by an inch or so. She could tell that fighting with this old man wouldn't last long. Only a few more times could strikes be evaded at that speed and thats if she was lucky. Kirito bolted for the doors and immediately started to pick the lock. It was a higher difficulty one so it would take a player at his skill at least 20 seconds to pick. Rika continued to dodge the rapid attacks. Each one felt faster and more deadly. It helped that Klein was a more nimble dps class that weilded medium range armor. If this was her heavy armor character the fight would have ended much earlier.

"Got it!" Kirito yelled as he opened the door. Unfortunately this distracted Rika and the old man managed to land a hit on her side. The moment sword hit flesh, Klein turned blue and disappeared. Kirito quickly went inside and closed the door.

Rika was now standing back at the pillar. There was no wound on her side and Kleins health was still full. After a moment a PM popped up on the hud.

From: Kirito

Hey, good job! I got inside and found a relic. When you make it back i'll come outside with it and he shouldn't attack anyone as long as I hold it out while we go to the entrance.

After she read the note and her vision returned to normal it startled her to see Asuna standing right in front of her.

"Ahh, Oh Asuna, what's up?" Rika asked with a very shakey tone. She thought nerves ran high around Kazuto, it was nothing compared to how tense she felt next to Asuna.

"Hey Klein, Umm I know you and Kirito have only been playing for a bit but can I steal him back from you?" She asked.

"Yeah of course. We just got past a really hard part. I'll take you to him." Rika replied. She wanted to tell Asuna it was her but choked up at the last moment and once again took on the fake persona. The whole time they trailed to the temple it was silent. Rika tried thinking of the best way to explain it was her and say sorry but thought of nothing good and remained silent. Eventually Asuna broke the silence.

"This may be an odd question but, Has Kazuto talked to you about other girls?" She asked. It showed on her face the question scared her because of what the answer could be.

"N-no way, he always tells me you are best babe." Rika said in a terrible manner to reassure her. Asuna didn't say a thing to this but seemed somewhat pleased with that answer. A part of her almost wanted Klein to say otherwise so her paranoia wasn't for nothing. Sometimes even if it's bad news people like to be right for the sake of how they've been acting. But, in this case she was realizing it was probably just her acting crazy and that in itself is never a good feeling.

"I'm such an idiot." Asuna said starting to tear up. Rika ran in front of her and started giving her a hug. Asuna froze up and her eyes shot wide open. Rika was used to comforting her girlfriends with hugs and forgot she was Klein. "Ummm-" Asuna's face turned red as she continued to stay frozen. Rika frantically backed off and apologized.

"S-sorry, just can't stand to see a pretty girl cry." Luckly those words saved her it wasn't a dialog that would be too far off from Kleins so it didn't blow her cover. Asuna told her it was ok and wiped her face.

"I feel like i'm driving him crazy being clingy like this but I get scared that i'll lose him." She continued. It was clear that both Kazuto and Suguha didn't exaggerat Asuna's recent behavior.

"It just shows how much you care for and love him." Rika said. The two started walking again. "Plus of all the chicks, you are the finest." Rika figured this would be a perfect way Klein would cheer up a girl. It didn't sit well in her mind that she had just basically called Asuna prettier then her but figured it was for the best.

Luckily the two made it to the clearing and once close enough Rika messaged Kirito and he came out. With the cross shaped golden relic in hand the knight guarding the door completely ignored his presence. He walked right up to Asuna and Klein with no problem.

"It worked!" He said very excitedly. It took him a moment to notice Asuna and his victory face quickly went away.

"A-asuna, i'm sorry. Klein and I were just trying to get in this place. It's just us, I promise." His tone was frantic and it seemed like he was trying to explain in a manner as if he was in trouble even though he wasn't. This reaction made Asuna frown and quickly grow angry.

"You don't have to act like i'm always expecting you to do something bad!" She snarled back. Rika could now see first hand how things have grown between the two.

"I don't know about you guys but i'm ready to check this place out!" Rika said trying to cut apart the tense atmosphere. Both agreed and put a pin in their argument. and made way to the temple. Standing next to Kazuto, they stayed huddled together while he held the relic up in plain sight. It kept the old knight oblivious of their presence.

"I guess it has a radius, since he doesn't notice you two." Kirito said as they walked past the man cautiously.

Once inside, it was a beautiful. The nave was long and decorated in gothic era golden arches and the floor a polished marble that showed their reflection. Once they reached the crossing, straight ahead was the altar. It looked like it was made entirely of stone and had a white cloth draped over it. Behind, against the wall was an elaborate peice of biblical art. Pillers on each side and on top a large crown with a cross resting at its peek. The three stood in shock at the craftsmanship or in this case the graphical detail.

"Ahhh!" Asuna screamed and jumped to the side. Rika and Kazuto frantically looked around and saw the blind knight was standing right behind them. They moved off to the side in fear but the man just walked past them and up to the alter. He stood behind it, stationed at about the center then lifted up both arms a little above head height.

"You have worked valiantly together and may now have the blessing of this holy place." The old man spoke out. Shortly after his words a message popped up on all three of their screens.

From: Akunotou devs

You have unlocked 'blessed grounds'. Here you may wed another player in-game. This grants various bonuses when partied with an in-game spouse. Congratulated!

"Ah, so this game does it too." Kirito said skimming the message. It was not uncommon in most full dive games now to hold wedding ceremonies. It was a fad that carried over from old screen MMO's. For him it would be the most practical way if he and Asuna actually got married because Strea and Yui would be able to attend. The three walked up to the altar but an invisible barrior stopped their movements.

"Only two may come up and wed. Anyone else must stand to the side or sit on the bench." The old man said. The game had restrictions on this it looked like.

"Guess this game won't allow polygamy." Kirito said with a grin. Everyone giggled and Asuna called him an idiot in a playful way.

Rika looked at them and figured now would be the best time. Since no other players were around and she had the two together it was the only good chance to talk.

"Hey, we need to talk." Rika said. Both of them turned and looked at Klein in confusion. "It's me, Rika." Once she said this it looked like a light went off in Kirito's head. "That explains the behavior." He replied sounding almost not suprised. He always was a hard person to throw off balance or maybe he just knew all along something was up. Asuna on the other hand was caught completely off guard.

"W-what?!" She was shocked but it quickly turned to anger. "Why are you here and why are you using Ryoutarou's avatar?" She asked coldly in aggravation.

"It's a long story and I will gladly tell it to you, but first I have something to say, Asuna." Rika walked up and grabbed her hands. At first she jerked away but after a second try there was no resistance. "I've had a hard time lately. It feels like things are falling apart around me and instead of being open about it I held it in and at it's darkest I made a huge mistake. I'm not going to lie to you an, Asuna. I really do have feelings for Kazuto. During the dark times in SAO he gave me light and it's hard not to let that tug at your heart strings. It was so hard being your friend always hearing about you two and one day I let all my bottled up feelings come out." Rika started tearing up but managed to push them back. She took Asuna's hands and put them in Kazuto's.

"You two have true love and I love you both. I don't want to lose my friends and I realize now that when things are dark you need to stick together. It's how we survived SAO and it's how we will survive the real world. We all have different paths to walk in life and i'm sorry I tried to steal yours. It was just hard for me to accept the hand i've been delt. I can never really make up for what happened but I can promise you both that I won't use my friends again. Not for any reason, just to forget about my problems." It was a bit odd listening to this through Kleins mouth but the message was clear. Asuna started crying and hugged Rika. Shortly after their moment Asuna ran up and kissed Kazuto. She apologized for her recent attitude and the two embraced each other. After they kissed, she turned back to Rika.

"We will always be there for you." Asuna said staying cuddled up to Kazuto.

"Plus it's been terrible without a tank. We haven't done a dungeon in awhile now." Kirito blurted out. Asuna elbowed him but his words made Rika laugh and lightened the mood.

"I think you two have somthing to do." Rika said pointing to the altar. Asuna and Kirito looked at each other and nodded. The two approched the old man and began the ceremony. Yui appeared behind them with adorable puffed out cheeks.

"Mom, Dad! You can't leave me out!" She pouted. They apologized to her then laughed as a family. Yui conjured a basket with flower peddles inside and tossed them about the area. Rika sat at the front most bench and watched the two get married. It still hit a tender area but it was nothing compared to how good it felt to be reunited with her friends.

After the wedding ceremony the three went back to Shikageichi and talked inside the local tavern. Rika told them about her dramatic events and explained why she was at Ryoutarou's place. Asuna and Kirito felt terrible for the things she went through. It seemed like there love issues didn't even compare. Still though, Rika was hiding her fathers actions from them. That was something she wasn't ready to openly discuss.

"I should probably get off and see how he is doing." Rika said after finishing her drink. Asuna hugged her one last rime and offered to hang out sometime after school and Kirito told her to get back on her avatar soon so they could run a dungeon. To no suprise, he got another elbow for that comment. Rika noticed the two argued and playfully faught like they did before and it made her happy to see. With smiles and a few more goodbyes, she logged off.

Taking the head gear off she noticed her legs were propped up and rested on a lap. looking up, she noticed it was Ryoutarou's lap.

"Well hello, couch hog." He said with eyes glued to the tv. She scrambled to sit up and frantically apologized for using his Nervegear.

"No problem, did you get me some good loot or a couple levels?" He asked sarcastically. She shook her head then looked up at him with a big grin.

"No loot, but I did get something much, much better." He was confused by her answer but didn't pry. She hopped up, full of energy and made way to the kitchen. Shortly after, a violent knock startled Ryoutarou. Rika heard it too and quickly ran to the living room. The knocks almost had no gaps between them to wait for an answer it was just endless pounding. Whoever was on the otherside seemed very impatient. With some struggle he managed to get off the couch and grab the crutches to the side of the couch. He limped over to the door quickly as possible to stop the person from breaking the door down.

"I'm coming! calm down, jeez." He said unlatching the lock. Once he opened the door there was a middle age looking man standing before him. "Can I help you?" Ryoutarou asked. The man ignored the question and looked around him into the appartment. Rika peeked at the doorway and the two made eye contact. She quickly realized who it was. It was her father.


	7. final

"I knew it!" Her father yelled shoving past Ryoutarou.

Rika was frozen in place and offered little resistance when he ran up and grabbed her arm.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" He said smacking her cheek. seeing this triggered Ryoutarou and he threw himself at her father. They both tumbled to the floor and struggled for a moment. With the age gap and having a more muscular build, Ryoutarou could have easily won but with his current injury, it didn't take long for her dad to over power him. Once on top he landed a few good jabs at Ryoutarou's face before standing up. The hits didn't hurt nearly as bad compared to the now probably reopen stab wound. The father saw him not trying to make any moves so he once again grabbed Rika's arm and they made for the door.

"You can't treat her like this!" Ryoutarou yelled while coughing blood.

"Excuse me, ass hole!?" The father yelled as he ran up and kicked him on the ground repeatedly. He spat out more blood and used every bit of his being to not cry out in pain.

"Stop it!" Rika yelled running up to her father. She tried pulling him back but it did little. He simply threw an arm behind him and it sent her to the ground.

"You know she is a high school girl right? What are you, Like thirty? I could send you to jail, freak!" He continued yelling and kicking furiously. It was a shock when after a few more kicks Ryoutarou caught his leg and held it in place putting the father off balance and with a push it sent him to the floor.

"She needs good people in her life. She needs love." Ryoutarou spoke softly from being in pain. Each word was a struggle but he knew the message needed to get out.

"You lost your wife, I get that. But she needs you to double up on your duty as a parent. Not use her as an outlet for coping loss." At this point he was drifting in and out. heThe pain and blood loss way weighing heavy on his consciousness. "You didn't just lose a wife, she lost a mother. She needs all the love you can possibly give. She really needs you." He took a huge weezing breath after talking and held his bleeding side. It was probably a vain effort but it showed how much he cared for her.

The father scrambled up from the floor and leaned over Ryoutarou's motionless figure. Rika was sitting in the spot she had been knocked down by and started crying.

"Stay away from my daughter you sicko. Next time i'll call the cops!" He said violently pointing at what was now a non lucid Ryoutarou. After this, he grabbed Rika, pulling her up from the floor and dragged her out of the appartment. Right before they went out the door she looked back at him lying motionless on the floor. He peeked open an eye and the two met gazes. She only mouthed it, but it looked like she was saying 'I'm sorry, I love you.' Shortly after they left he completely passed out.

One month later...

(Andrew's bar)

Ryoutarou walked into the bustling establishment. It was about the time when everyone got off their work commute and started winding down for the day. He was able to squeez past the crowd and made it up to an open bar stool to get Drew's attention.

"Well i'll be damned, you up and moving already?" Drew said holding out a open hand.

"Had to get out eventually." He replied. The two locked grips and pulled in till their forarms met chest.

"Your first time out and about?" He asked grabbing Ryoutarou a beer. He smiled and nodded. "And you come to a bar, should have expected nothing less." Drew shook his head as he poped off the bottle cap and set the drink down.

"Give me a break! My sister and neighbor wouldn't let me drink the whole time I was healing. I need this!" After saying this he grabbed the beer and nearly chugged the whole thing in one go. Drew just shook his head and asked about how everything has been.

"It's not bad. My sister got held up abroad. She was supposed to come back weeks ago and just now getting in today. Gotta pick her up at the airport. Hints why I need this beer before I get her." He said polishing off the bottle.

"First day out and you tell a bartender you are going to drink and drive." Drew nodded his head in shame. "By the way, how is your sister? mmm, she still lookin' fine?" Drew asked drifting off in thought.

"Gah, dude! First, thats my sister! Second, you're married!" Ryoutarou raised his voice in irritation. Ever since Drew met Amami he has always crushed on her and made sure He knew about it at every chance.

"She does art right? You should ask her of she wants to paint me nude. You know, show her a chocolate god template." He was just toying with him at this point. Ryoutarou turned red and spun the bar stool around so his back was to Drew as to not even acknowledge the question.

What he saw while turned around was a shock. In the corner of the bar was a man surrounded by women. He was holding up a necklace and it looked like the girls ate up every word he spoke. With closer inspection it didn't take long for the connection. The mans face looked just like the one thug from the alley. Ryoutarou spun back around frantically.

"That guy, he come here a lot?" He asked sounding impatient. Drew looked in the mans direction and nodded.

"Yeah, He comes in a few times a week. He has a thing going with that necklace." Drew said then leaned in to more private their conversation. "I don't know if it's true but he uses that thing to spin a sob story about losing a loving sister or something to pick up chicks. Sad part is, it usually works." Once he said this Ryoutarou slammed a fist on the bar startling everyone around his immediate area even Drew.

"That bastard, he is the one who stabbed me and tried to rape Rika." He wanted to yell but kept it down trying not to alarm people. Drew looked again at the man and back to Ryoutarou.

"Are you sure, man? Your first day out and about and you run into him. That's kinda too much of a coincidence." He said doubtfully. Ryoutarou shook his head and showed resolve on the matter. Seeing this, Drew believed him. The two continued to talk while waiting for the man to leave. Eventually he stopped talking and pocketed the necklace. It looked like one of his audience members took the bait. After making out with one of the girls the two got up and left the bar.

"Hey, watch the bar for a bit." Drew said to his employee. After that, they both followed the guy for awhile down the public sidewalks till he turned into an alley. Drew and Ryoutarou looked at each other a bit confused then went around the corner to follow him. Once they did the man was now facing them with a knife drawn.

"Why the hell are you two following me?!" He barked impatiently. The woman he was with asked what was going on and this irritated him. He smacked her face and told her to shut up. She immediately ran away in fear after that. "Oh good, there goes my pussy for the evening." He said while flipping her off as she ran.

"Not nice to smack a lady, pal." Drew said slowly walking closer and closer to him.

"Back up, ass hole!" He yelled swinging the knife in the air to look intimidating. Drew was unfazed he didn't even flinch at the wooshing blade and just continued stepping forward.

"Let's keep it cool, ok?" His tone mellow and each movement was solid and drawn out. The man looked over Drew's shoulder and saw Ryoutarou standing some feet behind.

"It's you! Didn't learn the first time huh? Guess I need to put another hole in you!" After yelling this he turned his attention to Drew again. "And you brought a friend, what are you going to do, mix me a drink?" He said sarcastically then scoffed. This was all Drew needed to hear. Now it was clear this was the man that had stabbed his friend.

"I'm going to give you a one time offer. Put the knife down and stay here with us like a good boy till the cops arrive." Drew said still slowly approching him. The man just laughed it off as a joke.

"Shit offer, what happens if I refuse?" He asked poking fun at them while dancing the blade in front of him. Drew stopped and cracked his nuckles.

"Instead of the cops picking you up unscathed, they scrape your punk ass off the asphalt." To this the man clenched his teeth. With a yell he held the knife still in front of him and charged at Drew. Unfortunately for him, the knife never made contact. Drew grabbed his arm and using the thugs momentum, lifted him up on his shoulders and over the otherside. The man landed hard on his back most likely cracking a rib or two.

"By the way, I used to be a bouncer before I got my bartending license. Any good bouncer worth his salt has some MMA under his belt." Drew said and casually leaned over the stunned thug. Still holding the knife he tried to take a swing but Drew caught the sluggish moving arm with ease and retaliated with a solid punch to the face for an instant knockout.

"Damn man, now I know never to piss you off." Ryoutarou said walking up to get a closer look at the mangled up punk. He caught a glimps of a glinting silver chain hanging out of his pocket and grabbed it. Holding it up close the chain appeared to be broken and the jewelry part was all silver with a tear drop shaped frame. He flipped it around and engraved on the back was the initials, 'S.L.'

"He probably stole that from some poor victim." Drew said leaning in giving it a once over.

"Can I hang on to it?" Ryoutarou asked. Drew was confused and asked why.

"Rika talked to me a few times about her mom and a necklace like this came up in our conversation. I just want to show her and if its not hers i'll give it to the cops." This was good enough explanation for drew. Once he pocketed the necklace his phone started to vibrate. It was Amami and just by reading her name on the screen and glancing at the time he was already late picking her up.

"Crap, I need to be at the airport like, 15 minutes ago. This had me so side tracked, I almost forgot." As he said this Drew just laughed and told him he would call the cops and take care of the mess. He also made it very clear in a perverted mannor to give regards to Amami.

After picking her up he was supprised how well she handled waiting over an hour. The moment she got in it was nothing but twenty questions. First about work, bad news. Second about healing, he got an arm punch for opening his cut a few more times while she was gone. After that she asked about Rika and thats when things got awkward and went silent. It was written all over his face something bad had happened but didn't want to say.

"Ok, spill it. Whats going on?" She asked forcefully reading him like a book. He was reluctant but gave her, with a few details left out inbetween, an update on just about everything that happened up to her father arrived and dragged her away. He explained how Ouno was the one that found him on the ground in his appartment and took care of him for the last month.

"It was awfully nice of her to do." Amami commented feeling terrible for being gone for so long.

"Trust me, it benefited her more then me. Lets just say she changed my bandages more then they needed to be." He said with a shiver. Flirting in the hall was one thing but having her drool over his half naked body was another. Amami just laughed at his trama.

"So, you really haven't talked to Rika in a month?" She asked becoming serious. He told her more about the black eye and bruise that was on her arm when they hung out. It showed as he explained it that Amami was growing more and more angry. He was more hands off on others family matters out of respect for privacy but Amami was not. They pulled up to the apartment and got out of the car. He started walking to the building before realizing she wasn't following. Turning around he watched her get in the drivers seat.

"What are you doing?" Ryoutarou asked. She ignored the question and asked him if he can get upstairs by himself. After he nodded she took off making the tires squeel.

(Shinozaki residence shortly after)

The buzzer went off without rest. Rika's dad wasn't expecting anyone so he figured it was a salesman or something and ignored it. After a few more minutes of buzzing he finally got up and yelled in the speaker box.

"What do you want!" He barked.

"I'm lost, sir and could really use help with directions." Amami lied. She made herself sound helpless and cutesy as possible. He heard how innocent the voice sounded and decided to open the door and once he looked Amami up and down, gladly let her inside.

"Now, where is a pretty girl like yourself trying to go?" He asked trying to put on a charm. She walked up to him with a big smile and soft eyes.

"Actually, I found the place." When she said this he just looked at her confused.

"I dont und-" Before he could finish, she smacked him across the face. He staggered back and grabbed at his throbbing, red cheek.

"What the hell?! You crazy bitch!" He yelled. She walked up ignoring the question and grabbed him by the collar then with generous force, tossed him back against the couch. It tripped the back of his knees making him fall down onto it. She walked up and stood looming over him while he sat in terror.

"I..i'll call the cops." His voice was shakey and had very little give behind it. She lifted up a open palm again and he flinched but she didn't smack him.

"Go ahead, when they arrive i'll gladly give them details about you smacking around your daughter. I've never been, but looking at you, middle aged, skinny, a guy like you doesn't do well in prison. I can only imagine what some incarcerated Yakuza would do to you and it's not pretty." She said. He was scared enough from her words not to ask, how she even knew Rika. He just sat stunned from what was happening and remained silent showing no more signs of aggression to her.

"So this is what's going to happen." She smiled and returned to the normal tone Amami. "I'm going to take your daughter to stay with me till you get your stuff together." Looking around at all the empty containers she shook her head. "And sober up. At that point you can call me and I will decide if it is ok for her to come home or not, understand?" The way she layed it out was like the allies to the Germans after WW2, unconditional and must accept. He was still frozen in fear but managed to nod.

"That's a good boy!" She patted his head then proceeded to go up stairs. At the top she met eye's with Rika, peering out of her room in fear. She was probably scared from all the commotion but quickly went wide eyed and all the fear drained away when she realized it was Amami. She rushed out of the room and the two hugged.

"Pack a bag girlfriend, you are going to hang out with me for awhile." Amami said with that warm smile Rika missed. Without question she anxiously put together an overnight bag and the two made way to the front door. Before leaving, Rika looked at her dad. He met her eyes and turned away in shame without saying a word. After that, they left.

"Are we going to Ryoutarou's place?" Rika asked as they drove off.

"Actually, since my exhibit finished up, I have a lot of free time now. I was going to look around town for a place to rent. Wanna help me find a good one?" Amami asked as she handed Rika a paper with appartment listings. She nodded and scanned the paper. For the rest of the day they went around checking out different locations. While they looked it gave time to catch up on everything that has happened since they parted. Like Ryoutarou, she left out some details about them but happily talked about reuniting with her friends and how she has kept her nose in textbooks the last month. After spending so much time caught in drama and taking care of him, grades started to slip. Being isolated did have a slight good part to it at least it gave her plenty of time to focus on school. Amami had just as much to talk about. Her escapades abroad made Rika's life sound so indolent. It was a reason she looked up to her though. It was nice having someone to admire and not feel a competitive nature with like her and Asuna.

"What did you think of that one?" Amami asked as they walked out of another place. Rika didn't really care what it looked like as long as she got to stay with her it would be great.

"I think this one would be the best since it's close to your brother." Rika said looking at the familiar street. Looking at a few land marks and the address, it was only a few blocks from his house.

"He wont be happy about it, but I love it!" Amami replied. Shortly after, she talked to the landlord and in just a few hours had the keys. They talked about having an all day shopping spree to decorate the place but before that decided to visit Ryoutarou since he was close by and so Amami could apologize for stealing the car.

At his place it was a warm and a bit awkward reunion. Things had grown complicated between them before and on top of that the last they saw each other her father was pummeling him.

"I'm sorry about my dad. I really should have told you I ran away. It was selfish, I didn't think and it got you hurt and almost in serious trouble." Rika said looking down at the floor. He just started laughing and this made her look up at him confused.

"Since I graduated i've had middle age men beat me up all the time. Not physically but verbally at work and that's even worse." He replied with that classic carefree smile of his. Rika giggled and Amami shook her head then asked about his job since they were on the subject.

"Oh, I got fired." He said casually. The girls looked suprised then Amami's expression turned quickly to anger.

"When?! Why didn't you tell me?" She asked furiously.

"Not sure. Anyways, what is the demand for gigolo's in Japan?" He was trying to turn the conversation into a sarcastic bit but she didn't laugh but instead came at him with a flurry of arm jabs. After that and a few verbal scaldings he apologized then got up and walked off to the bedroom. Shortly after he came back with a necklace hanging from his hand with two fingers pinching its chain. Rika noticed it immediately and had a happy guess at what it was. She dashed up and swipped it.

"You found it!" She gasped and held it bunched up in a fist against her chest. This was all he needed to hear and see to know it was hers.

"Found the guy. Drew, kindly taught him mannors and the police are taking care of the rest." Saying this, he made air quotations over the word 'kindly'. Rika held it in her palm and just gazed at it with warm eyes then started to tear up.

"It's so pretty." Amami complimented. It didn't take long for Rika to notice the broken chain though.

"That can be fixed easy." Ryoutarou said guessing what she was disheartened about. "I do have to ask, what does S.L. stand for?" He had been thinking about it for a better part of the day. It had been the only thing that kept him from completely beliving it was hers before.

"Shinozaki Lisbeth." She said it so quiet it almost seemed mouthed.

"Lisbeth, like your gamer tag?" He asked. It seemed odd to put your gaming name monogrammed in jewelry.

"It was my mothers name, she was European." Rika's tears built up enough to start falling silently in her palm around the necklace. Amami wrapped her arms around her from behind and Ryoutarou remained silent for the moment she was having.

"Yours is cool, have a tag named after your mom. Mine is a nickname my sister gave me. Klein is German for tiny or something like that." He said a bit ashamed. It broke the silence and ended the moment on a good note with a curved smile on Rika's face.

After that day the weeks flew by for Rika. Her and Amami had furnished the new place. She had rekindled relations with Asuna and Kazuto. Grades have been going back up. It made things for the first time in a long while feel normal again for her. In fact, better then normal. It still hurt that her father hadn't called or made an effort to see her yet. He had a lot of problems that needed to be fixed and if he truly loved her, he will change one day.

Nearing the end of her senior year it was time to start looking into colleges. With keen engineering prowess and affinity for hands on robotics, the schools she looked at had more of a lean on math and sciences. She was coming home from club while glancing at all the brochures to these places when there was a big suprise waiting at home.

Opening the door it startled her to see Amami and Ryoutarou standing in the middle of the room as if anticanticipating the exact moment she would arrive.

"Suprise!" They yelled. Rika looked around confused then pulled up her phone to look at the date.

"H-hey, it's not my birthday or anything. What's the occasion?" She asked nervously from being in the limelight.

"You will be graduating soon and my brother came up with a great idea." Amami nudged Ryoutarou who was holding a manilla folder full of papers. He came to attention then walked over to Rika and handed it to her. She looked up at them confused and they just gestured her to open it.

Inside on the first page was big bold letters. 'S.L. DME' And below that in a smaller font 'Research center'. She flipped through the pages and it was all business jargon that made no sense to her.

"What is all this?" She asked now more confused. Ryoutarou walked up beside her and skimmed through the documents.

"Well, since i've been out of work and my sister pays my rent. I've been using my time and business experience to put this together. It will be an LLC with our fathers company to start a division for research on Prosthetics with todays nerve technology." He flipped to a page near the center of the paperwork and it showed a blank line with a mark at the side.

"You just have to sign here and we can get the ball rolling." He walked over to the table near by and set down a pen then stood back over by Amami. The two remained silent while they watched Rika take in what was happening.

"But I still have college, and what if I ruin it." She started to panic at how overwhelming this all was. Amami gave her that smile she remembered from when the first talked at the hospital.

"I know you can do it. Going to college and having a full lab at your disposal will only benefit your education and bring you closer to your dream." Her reassuring words made Rika relax a bit and start to think of the possibilities.

"Plus if you sign it, I added a permanent position for me in the business departent so my sister can stop holding the whole, I pay all your stuff, over my head." Ryoutarou said with a thumbs up. Needless to say, he got an arm jab from his sister for the comment.

"I don't know what to say, this is incredible." Rika glanced over the papers a few more times still a bit in disbelief that this was real.

"Don't say a thing, Rika. Just always keep following that path and become who you want to be." After Amami said this Rika set the file on the table and signed it.

Four years later...

The hallway was lively with employees. Moving in and out of rooms and labs, some on phones, some reading papers and almost bumping into others. This was the scene of a productive and healthy company. Rika had a different stride from everyone else as she made way through the crowd. Always looking up, always smiling an aura of charisma. She was greeted by nearly everyone who passed. She was wearing a long white lab coat over a short tan sweater dress with black formal pants and matching black flats. Her hair was long and in a pony tail twisted into a bun with strips of side burns hanging down. She would have the aesthetic of a mature office woman if not for the lab coat draped over everything. Most noticeable of her appearance was the band on her left ring finger. It was silver with her mothers teardrop pendant soldered on top.

Managing to squeez past the drove of engineers and research teams, she managed to make it to the door at the end. A name plate rest about top center that said 'Head of reseach' and in small font underneath 'Shinozaki Rika'.

After going inside and closing the door everything was immediately dead silent. Rika took a deep breath enjoying the rare moment and walked over to her office desk. Atop it was various papers, work related and a framed picture to one side. She picked it up and looked with fondness. It was her in a wedding dress, next to her was Ryoutarou in a very rare sight of wearing a tux. The two hand in hand and off to the sides was Amami, Asuna and Kazuto.

After a short nostalgic soak in, she set it down and rummaged through the various papers scattered about. Finally she found one that was needed for the board meeting. It had details she was going to show regarding a new ligament design her team has been working on to improve the newest model. The silence from the room made her almost drop the papers when her phone went off. pulling it out of the lab coat she answered in a business formal tone. Since most of her phone time was spent with company director's or various business acquaintances.

"Shinozaki speaking."

"Oh yes, i'm sorry honey. I can grab dinner on the way home. Just have to pass along this document real quick. yes, yes, i'll be home soon. I love you too." As she talked the back wall of the office got her attention. In a frame on it was Amami's drawing of the lady that was half water. Once their phone call ended she walked up to it and stared for awhile. Thinking about how long that picture has bugged her. To this day she didn't understand how it reminded Amami of her or why of all the drawings and paintings that was the one she got. Maybe it was just a silly drawing she gave her at a spur of the moment but at the same time maybe it ment more. Either way it was a gift from someone she loved and it was worth tresuring.

"Knock, knock." The voice made Rika drop her papers and break focus from the drawing. She turned around to find Amami poking just her head in the office. The moment Rika noticed who it was she took a casual demeanor.

"You scared me." She said picking up the papers scattered about. Amami apologized and explained how she was in the area and wanted to drop by and say hello. After helping Rika pick up the scattered pages, Amami looked up at her drawing on the wall.

"Still have that, huh?" she said while walking up to it. "And even in a frame. Pretty good treatment for a doodle." She was being modest. The amount of detail showed that the artist was naturally gifted if not very experienced in drawing.

"It's not just a doodle and I still don't know how you think it relates to me." Rika replied walking up next to her. The two looked at it together.

"Its been some years now, wanna venture a guess?" Amami asked playfully. Rika staired at it intensly for a moment before replying.

"The first problem, is she turning into water or is the water turning into her? Maybe, it is because I feel less like a person and more like something people use, like 'water' or maybe, the water, tired of being taken for granted wants to greedily become a person. Some days I look at it one way and some another." As Rika finished her thought, Amami giggled. "What's so funny?" She asked a bit embarrassed of her drawn out answer.

Amami grinned. "Not a thing, Rika."

THE END


End file.
